( good, he's being agreeable. that makes things a bit easier on andrew. although his body is drawn permanently taunt, in anticipation for every worse case scenario he's ever had to live through, there's an odd tremor down his arm. his thumb -- rubbing up against the bend of his elbow. clear anxiety, in the one motion he never lets slip through.

in truth, he's scared to lose aaron. it's a terrifying thought, to lose the one person he's tried to keep safe beyond all other people, because his life is the single more precious one andrew knows to date. they look alike. they are alike. andrew is scared shitless of the idea of anything bad happening to aaron -- he can't be there when john murphy is fucking him, to make sure he's doing it right, to make sure he doesn't go to fast, to make sure he doesn't go to hard. to make sure this soft, untainted body is taken care of, the way that andrew's wasn't. to make sure aaron never has another fucking tilda in his life again. to make sure anyone who raises a hand at aaron gets their wrist snapped and their fingers broken.

he knows murphy is violent, now. but he also knows he's strong. he could snap wrists, he could break fingers. what does andrew provide him now, but a standard of how far he has yet to fall to become the family fuck up? )

So, ( rarely does andrew stutter for words. he does now, briefly. why did you need katelyn, when you had me? ) What? Clearly our agreement isn't working out for you. I'm not going to make you choose between your infection or me, because I wouldn't enjoy the hypocrisy when it comes to Axel. You have a decision to make, even still. ( his gaze finds the outside through the window now, thumb stopping its ceaseless motion. ) We put the terms on hiatus until we get back to Palmetto, or we terminate it altogether.