After so many emotions and that minor mental breakdown, Hazel let Steven sleep two extra hours halfway through the day and gave the rest free time.

He was on a mission.

He wished the mission was walking into Steven's house, finding Allison and instilling the same fear and confusion she put into Steven, but that wasn't the case.

Adam and Jacob smirked at him as he scowled and grabbed his keys. He didn't need to mask right now, Steven wasn't around.

"Just admit you're gay, Hazel," Adam chuckled in that bassy tone he tried not to dwell on for too long.

He scowled deeper. "Not funny."

Jacob grinned fuller and fiddled with his gun. "Come on, we're all in recovery. You should be considered one of us too."

"Growing up with religious oppression and being scared of being gay isn't abuse. It's indoctrination," He muttered. "And I love you guys but I'm done with this conversation."

Both men spread their arms and Hazel stumbled back. "St-stop it. I have to go pick up the—,"

Their arms surrounded him and his heart picked up pace times three. Men, hugging Hazel, made him flustered and nervous. It's not what his house was about, he wasn't traumatized.

But he could admit part of the reason his heart was racing was because of his former religious upbringing.

Gays go to hell. God doesn't like gays. Eternal damnation.

They pulled away and Adam smiled just a little before excusing himself silently. Sometimes he still struggled to speak.

Jacob however just watched Hazel put on his jacket. "You're gonna have to face it eventually."

Hazel paused as his hand was about to turn the knob. "No, thank you."

"I bet if a guy kissed your cheek you'd go into cardiac arrest," He joked.

They shared a tiny chuckle, but then Jacob wandered off to probably go find Jasmin or Adam. The man had an incredibly strong bond with both, but Hazel had only ever found men attractive.

He thought about his first time meeting Steven: the jumpy, sweet, doe eyed man he was at the time. Now his eyes were empty, confused. He didn't seem to know quite what to do with himself. Connie had reported he had passed out as soon as his head hit her lap, a sign of comfort or exhaustion with being so touch starved.

In all of Hazels years of life and then opening The House Of Angels, he'd never met someone that touch starved. An action as simple as fixing his hair made him noticeably miserable because it couldn't last forever. He had forgotten what it was like to be touched with care, or concern, or for pleasure. He was stunted as a grown adult and it was all Allison's fault.

His hands gripped the wheel as his mind went to the beauty queen terrorizing his Steven. Those cold blue eyes, the constant mental manipulation, the beatings. Steven still struggled to admit just how bad the beatings were but he'd heard on at least two occasions over the phone how slurred Steven had sounded. He wondered if he should take him to a real hospital to check for brain damage. He couldn't provide everything for Steven, no matter how much he wanted to.

If life were perfect, Steven would move in with Hazel permanently. He'd treat him the way he was supposed to be treated, like a king. No one that handsome and intelligent and artistic should ever have a hand laid on them. Deep within him, Hazel longed to be the one to make Steven realize he was loved, so loved.

He blinked and swerved, nearly missing his turn as his face filled with so much blood he felt faint.

Whatever. That wasn't his job. His job was to rehabilitate.

The previous week had gotten him thinking, and when Steven had begged him to just call him a good boy instead of saying thank you, it had shifted Hazels perspective wildly.

Allison hadn't necessarily been treating Steven like a slave, though as a black man he could see the many similarities he'd taken extra time to learn about. Allison had, above all, been treating Steven like a dog.

Dogs did as they were told when trained. Dogs were sometimes instilled with fear from their owners into obeying everything. Dogs got called good boys and girls. Dogs slept on dirty cots and ate food when their owner deemed it was time. Some dogs were even violently abused until they became whimpering messes.

And Steven had been living that life for years.

An employee saw him coming down the driveway and waved cheerfully, giving him the world's biggest smile. He parked and raced out of the car to crush her in a hug. "Hey, Mama. I missed you so much. You'll never guess what happened."

His adoptive mother, Mercy Tabb, smiled at him with all the love in the world. "Baby, I missed you too. You know your mama be getting all kinds of lonely without you, but your brothers and sisters are ready for the trip. Tell me about this new boy making you blush so hard." She glanced over her shoulder at his miserable expression. "It is a boy right?"

"Mhm."

She chuckled and nodded for him to follow. "Well I've got milk and cookies in the break room. Tell Mama all about it."

*

Connie peered up at Steven as they sat on the swing in a mix of horror and awe.

She had never seen someone so completely still in her entire life. His eyes were locked and nearly unblinking as they stared at the trail leading to Hazels house.

He was waiting for him to return home like a dog.

"He'll be back, Steven," She told him with as much genuine warmth as she could muster. "He's not going to leave and not come back."

She could see him straining to look at her, but he was trained. Connie noticed his training probably better than others because she was trained herself.

When something was dirty, clean it.

When a customer asked for her, she tended to them.

When she was called, she answered no matter what she was doing or the hour of the day. She could rise out of a dead, coked out sleep and still be at least 90%. Ugh she really wished she had some right now, a cocaine boost would really help today.

Steven's training was way more obvious in her opinion, especially now. He waited by the door until he was shooed away for Hazels return. He did his one chore for the day so well everything practically glittered. His handwriting was neat and he searched for confirmation that it was readable. He showered perfect, when he was asked he did things.

The only thing that seemed to confuse him was—

He sucked in a breath and looked down at their hands intertwined. Blinking a few times, he broke his gaze and looked down at Connie with a heavy blush. "I'm s— Thank you. I was having..." Steven frowned as words left him.

Hazel had told her a hypothesis that he had the opposite problem as Adam but the opposite reason behind it. Adam went silent because that's what he was used to back at home with his psycho ex girlfriend. She didn't allow him to talk ever so sometimes that's what happened. He went silent as night and could become next to impossible to find even if you were in the same room like a depressing Where's Waldo.

But Steven was forced to not stay too silent. One could tell by the way he tried to respond to everything. No stutter, at least not very often, and he spoke up. Connie could guess Allison had beat him broken long ago over it. So it made sense that when he went quiet, he also went still with crippling anxiety.

So she smiled. "A panic attack? Do they have you on medication like Hydroxicine?"

His lips wobbled for a second and he started holding his breath, she could see him trying to hold back tears too as he shrugged and averted his gaze.

"You know something Steven?" She forced herself to say. She felt so grimy, how could someone so gentle and clearly loving want to hold her hand? Connie was just a prostitute, thank god she'd never contracted something permanent but still...

He turned to her, eyes still down staring at the swing in between them. Suddenly she felt guilty for teasing him about looking at her boobs. She was so used to sexuality that she'd not really considered how long it had been for him. Or the consequences he may have faced at looking someone in the eye.

"I'm never, ever going to hit you for any reason." Connie swallowed her pride and rested her head on his shoulder. "You seem so nice, you didn't deserve what happened to you no matter what you think."

She could feel him draw in a tumultuous breath before she was lifted with shaky arms to sit closer to him. Perhaps he was immobile but gosh even as someone who was clearly starving, he was really strong! Now their hips were touching and he rested his head on top of hers. "I'm trying. I promise, I just—," He sniffled and slumped against her harder. She couldn't help but notice that for a 6'6 mountain of a man that he was light. "I miss Hazel so much."

Connie grinned to herself and reached up to pat his cheek very gently. He flinched and she tried not to let that hurt her (since when did she start caring so much?). But she did it anyways, a gentle pat of the cheek that made him sigh happily and involuntarily. "I'm absolutely positive he misses you too."

*

As soon as Jacob got Adam alone he melted into his arms. "What's wrong with me?"

Adam quirked a brow and smirked like he would say something sarcastic but shrugged and started fidgeting with his rings.

They watched out the window, hearing the hushed voice of mostly Connie and the vibrant grass Hazel was borderline psychotic about staying green and lush. Nature was rather healing, they had found. Hazel wasn't ever an asshole, his heart wasn't even made of gold.

He was a man of marshmallows and sugar and sunshine. He just wanted the best for them.

"Sometimes I don't ever think I'll recover. I feel dirty and broken inside," Jacob confessed shallowly, listening to the way Adams heart picked up pace when his lips brushed against his neck. "Who am I to be out there helping people escape when I never could?"

He didn't expect Adam to answer, but he murmured almost inaudibly, "But you did."

Adam shifted and pulled out his phone, a scowl of frustration turning to a grief he only showed a select few. His voice had been taken from him, he'd been found and didn't speak a word for nearly two weeks. He typed out his next sentence, "Just give me a second. I'm here."

Jacob wasn't there when it had happened, but Hazel had recounted in private how haunting his voice had been that first sentence.

Adam couldn't get close to women, it took him awhile to warm up to being in a house full of them. He'd tried to fight Hazel and only ended up sobbing with barely any sound into his arms.

Jacob snapped out of his disassociating to find Adam smiling down at him and a little red in the cheeks. "What?"

His eyes flickered away under the thick black hair he used to obscure it. Jacob had never really seen them past a glimpse.

He licked his lips and drew in a long breath, Jacob recognized it as preparation and he prepared himself to hear the way Adam spoke when he was trying to break out of the shackles silence had him in.

Instead of speaking, he pushed his hair to the side to study Jacob with eyes so jarring his own widened.

His first thought was that they were bleached blue. A blue so light and airy that it was impossible to him that he was existing in the same room as them. But, then he was aware of the purple in them. A genuine, literal purple.

The walls in the room started closing in on him. His breathing grew shallow. What was this sensation?

Jacob was losing his mind as they seemed to speak what he couldn't say. Worlds of emotion his voice tended to lack lay right in front of him like a present through his eyes.

Suddenly, the hyper, chatterbox of a man was rendered silent as they stared at each other.

Sometimes, even when Adam moved it seemed as if he were being still. A soft, gentle two fingers tapped Jacob's cheek to alert him to the heavy blushing he was doing (as if he didn't know) then slid down to the side of his neck to check his pulse.

Jacob could safely guess it was beating at a reasonable million miles an hour. Goosebumps rose at his touch and Adam's pupils dilated, taking a sarcastic but cheerful shade of enjoyment. There his fingers stayed for at least two minutes.

Finally, Adam twitched and turned away to sigh heavily. "You can't keep coming to see me."

Jacob smirked, he couldn't help it. "Why not?"

Adam whipped out a vape and took a ridiculously large hit, smoke wafting out around him as he spoke. "You have a girlfriend," He reminded him.

Jacob pulled out his phone and snapped a picture, then sent it to Jasmin. Adam stared at him like he was insane.

He was.

Almost immediately she sent heart eyes and messaged, "For FUCKS sake, I LOVE having a bisexual boyfriend. Tell Adam to quit depriving himself of affection. Tell him that's stupid and he's being stupid and he can't date you too if he's gonna be stupid."

Jacob clicked off his phone and started rambling about something completely different. "That Steven kid's got himself into a completely different world of trouble. I don't think I've ever seen Hazel look at anyone the way he looks at Steven. But he's trying to set him up with Connie and I think it's working." He chuckled when Adam's hand twitched again, he could tell he wanted to fix his hair because it was messy. Jacob's hair was always messy. "It's weird. Why do the employees here insist on focusing on everyone but themselves? It's unprofessional maybe, but life is a mess and nothing matters. Nothing at all. I killed Scott. I meant it. I'd do it again and again no hesitation. I'm not sorry and I'm not sure I ever will be. I'd kill any person that so much as laid an unpleasant finger on you, or Jasmin, or anyone for that matter. I hate other people. I don't like when Hazel forces me to go for groceries to reindoctrinate me into the outside world. I want to stay here and now I get to. Hazel offered me a job so I get to stay here with you... guys." He gathered his courage and took Adam's hand in his. He squeezed immediately. "Shifting gears again, excuse my neurodivergence. I think there's a lot of personality in Steven. I think he needs friends, people to show him what it's like to be loved and respected. Apology Packets will only go so far, he needs real life examples."

When he peeked up at Adam he was smiling at him, though the definition was skewed greatly. His lips didn't always curve, but his face brightened, his cheekbones were more prominent. He glowed a little. "You need to stop pretending you're stupid."

Jacob sighed. "No, thank you."

*

When Steven woke back up laying in the grass with Connie, it was because he heard a sound that filled him with indescribable feeling. His eyes didn't open, but he was skilled at sensing energy.

Hostile energy. Angry energy. Deceitful energy.

This wasn't like that. It was unreadable.

Something warm and wet found his hand and he flinched so hard that Connie jumped up looking ready for a fight, only to be tackled by a golden retriever.

Dogs. There were dogs everywhere.

His eyes rose from the field to see Hazel standing in the middle of the grass with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Everyone out of the house! Mandatory therapy session right now! Wake up your friends and COME OUTSIDE! It's beautiful out here!"

Steven started trembling as the biggest dog he'd ever seen seemed to be approaching him. When was the last time he'd even seen a dog, let alone interacted with one?

It would hate him. It would rip him apart or something. Didn't dogs smell fear? He was definitely afraid. He felt pathetic, he was always finding new ways to fear and be scared like a little kid in the dark. The sun was shining. The temperature was just right. He'd had another nap.

Why? Why was he so disgusting and terrible? Why couldn't he just enjoy normal things like eating and being outside and dogs? Why did he have to be so afraid of everything? It made him want to scream his frustration.

A memory was granted to him: he remembered someone definitely telling him dogs could smell fear. Something about pheromones. He was sure he stunk of it as his vision tunneled and he grew faint.

Hazel cried out and everything went black.

"Hey, Steven. Please wake up. It's gonna be okay, look."

His eyes fluttered open to see Hazel smiling tensely down at him. It became fuller and brighter and Steven returned it drowsily. "What happened?"

Hazel nodded to his left to alert him to a dog, lying patiently for him to revive.

Steven couldn't help it, he tried to scramble away but Hazel put a hand on his thigh. "It's okay. They're trained. Look." He stuck out a hand and the dog rose very slowly to sniff at it and lick gently. It looked to Steven, then back at Hazel as if awaiting permission. "Steven, this is Garnet. She's a St. Bernard, known for being loyal and protective. She would like to meet you, is that okay?"

"Sh-she won't... bite me?" She was awfully pretty and well groomed. Her brown and white coat reflected sun a bit, it was glossy and brushed recently. Garnet panted at him expectantly as Hazel assured him St. Bernard's were known for not biting. "I feel like a little kid, Hazel."

Hazel brightened and scooted closer to sit next to Steven. "Garnet, stay." The dog sat on her behind and froze. "St. Bernard's are really good with children, and Garnet is a certified Emotional Support Animal and a Therapy dog. Look around, Steven."

There were still dogs everywhere, and people petting and hugging and crying as they nuzzled and licked at the sad humans. Even Connie had a couple of dogs playing with her, her smile stretched a mile wide and it made Steven smile too. She wrestled with one and another pounced on her but she giggled and nudged it off, petting and praising both of them.

Adam, Jasmin and Jacob were petting another giant St. Bernard and speaking in hushed voices. A smaller puppy trotted up to Adam and seemed to demand his attention, so he picked it up and observed it carefully before letting it wiggle closer to yip the most friendly little bark in the world. Adam laughed and held it close like a baby, pressing his cheek to its own.

Zinnia had a tiny curly haired dog on her lap while she sobbed and it licked away her tears. It spun around in front of her and leapt into the air, making her laugh and wipe away the tears in place of a huge grin. "You're so cute!" She exclaimed to the dogs excitement.

Sophie was looking directly at Steven. He flushed his embarrassment but she waved happily and brought her hand to the German Shepard that had chosen her. It pushed into it like it was desperate for affection and climbed onto her lap to flash its best puppy dog eyes. She laughed and burrowed her nose into the pet, only serving to encourage it to lick anywhere it could reach.

Alex was a bit more nervous, a golden retriever that had the same color of hair as he did was sitting in front of him. They stared at each other before Alex patted its head rather awkwardly. It barked and he flinched but as soon as he did the dog laid flat on the ground with its tail wagging. He moved closer and laid his head on its back, stilling like a statue.

Steven looked back at Garnet patiently waiting and extended a shaking hand. "Okay. I'm ready."

Garnet padded up to him and didn't even sniff his hand. She walked right up to him and raised a paw to rest over his heart.

Wind blew through both of their hair as Steven felt a well of emotion rising in him. He started to cry hard, deep sobs and Garnet rested her head on his lap while he tried to compose himself. Hazel rubbed his back and murmured encouraging words that only made him cry harder.

Where had such a magnificent creature come from? He was being a loser, he knew he was being a loser but still she inched a bit further on and started licking his face.

Maybe Garnet liked losers.

He giggled. The warm sensation was weird and Garnet's tail started wagging wildly. She was so big but so was he. Tall and large he suddenly felt as a fuller, bigger laugh burst from him. It was like the years of repressing his laughter had finally ended, he felt joy bubbling over and he hugged the dog, pleased and surprised when she knocked him over to lie on top of him while he held her close.

Adam jogged over, chuckling at the puppy still following him and got down on one knee to pick it up while he sat next to Hazel.

Hazel quirked an eyebrow. "You okay? You're... you look really flushed and kinda nauseous."

Through gritted teeth Adam muttered, "I look awesome."

Hazel wiped a few tears away and watched Steven grow more comfortable as another dog trotted up to see what the commotion was about. It was a chocolate lab Hazel recognized as Amethyst. His mom had always had a weird thing with gemstones, all of the dogs were named after a gem. "What's your name?" Steven asked it as he hesitantly checked the collar. "Amethyst. That's a beautiful name." She licked his face too and he giggled so purely Hazel almost had a joint heartastroke.

He turned to see both Adam and his dog giving him a look. "What?"

Adam shrugged and stroked the dog at perfect intervals, absorbing the situation he was in. Apparently, this dog wouldn't leave him alone. He cleared his throat and murmured, "I think Blue and I have a lot in common. We see the world quite cynically."

Hazel chuckled and nudged him. "I think you're changing, Adam."

He frowned as if that disconcerted him. "I'm sorry?"

"You have been ghostly pale since the day I met you, and today you're blushing like crazy," He pointed out quietly, a teasing edge to his voice. "Did my Adam meet someone?"

Adam let out a beastly groan and fell backwards rather dramatically. Blue barked in alarm and hopped onto him to sniff at his face. A hand raised quickly to pet her. "Yes."

As if Hazels joy couldn't get any better, Steven rose off the ground with an expression he'd never seen on him: giddiness. He looked more human than he'd ever seen him. "Hazel, I just found out I love dogs!"

"You think you might want one?"

His face dropped and Hazel wished he hadn't even asked. "I... don't have a house anymore. Where would I put it?"

Scrambling to bring his joy back so he could stare at it, Hazel blurted, "What if we made weekly visits? You need to get out of the house more, you've been here a whole week you know. We could start here and— and then we could start taking groups to where my mom works. You... you could meet my mom too. She's really nice?"

Steven missed his embarrassed and horrified blush and beamed like the sun. "Okay. I'll try it." He shook off the dogs and while Amethyst trotted off to explore more people, Garnet came with him. He wrapped Hazel in a hug and nuzzled in close. "Thank you, Hazel."

Garnet barked gently and put a paw on Hazels shoulder. Steven giggled again, he was so full of laughter and it was so precious hitting Hazels ears he could barely stand it. "Garnet says thank you too."