_JUDE.

            _{He’d let himself in, thinking nothing of it — thinking Elliot home, so it wouldn’t matter if he came in unannounced or not. But there’s no answer to his sing – song calls of      ‘ Ellie? Elliot? Elliiiiot? ‘      There’s no sound, either: not the rush of water, music, or voices come from a TV station.} 

            _{Jude’s child – like hope of being able to bug the other man is dashed. Frowning, eyes skim over the living room, stopping when they come upon the apartment’s other occupant: angular, coat soft and white, he traipses over looking to get the pretty kitty to let him pet her. This is enough of a distraction for a while, but not forever: minutes aggressively tick by and he’s not the most patient person or creature in the world. He may have a tendency of being obsessive, but that’s not working out in Elliot’s favor today, when Jude disengages from his furry princess to explore the apartment.} 

            _{Furniture is draped across. The floor rolled around on. Eventually, he’s up on his feet, poking his nose in cabinets and drawers, looking at the contents but not daring lift a hand to push them about and discover what might be hidden behind or beneath what he gets at face value. He doesn’t want to upset anything from its place.} 

            _{In hindsight, he can understand this as going too far, but when he extends his hand to a door that he doesn’t think will actually open with a twist of its know.      “ Huh… “      It’s not only cats that can end up victims of their own curiosity: he’s instantly enthralled by the contents of this room he’s found, and how different it is from the rest of the apartment. It’s got — substance, to it. Personality. Memories, Jude discerns, eyes dragging over photos and fingers over the spines of tomes in their organized lines along their many shelves.} 

            _{Despite how good he’s been about leaving everything in its rightful place thus far, hound picks up one framed family photograph on impulse — a soft ache taking deeper root in his chest the longer he stares at the melancholic portrait, detailing each face until attention befalls the one belonging to a little girl. A miserable little girl.}

            _{He knows who it is.} 

            _{But it’s neither realization, or shock: just confirmation of what he’s already known.}

            _{What does come as a shock is the unregistered appearance and chilling tone from behind him. Taken off guard, Jude jolts and fumbles, the picture sliding through hands usually more deft than what they are in this moment… it hits desk’s edge with a soul – splitting CRACK! before continuing onto the floor.}

            _{No, no, no…     “ Fuc— “      As much as he wants to apologize, he doesn’t get a chance. Not one to so much as respond to his mishap before he’s being manhandled.      “ Elliot, Elliot— I’m sorry, listen— “      He’s stronger. This is a fact. Bodily, cur could overtake the other man with ease if he weren’t so inclined to yield to his punishment. He knows he’s done wrong and worse by touching — by BREAKING — an heirloom he had no business knowing existed in the first place.} 

            _{Heart’s pace has quickened, as he’s not quite a fan of letting anyone loom over him when they’re inexplicably pissed off. Fists are curled into tight balls and tucked against the opposite side of their respective arm so to not start swinging; Adam’s apple shows with a nervous swallow that clears his throat of unvoiced sorry’s and excuses that won’t do him any good in making Elliot less upset with him.      “ …I-I’m not opposed to it. “      The joke makes a jittery escape, though Jude’s got wits enough to wince at his stupid blip. It’s not bound to to go over too well when the atmosphere is this tense.}

            _{“ I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… well, I meant to come in here, but I didn’t mean to— “      get caught? You fucking asshole—       “ I didn’t mean to drop it. “}      

             _{———❝ Shut up. ❞|
You could see it, on his face, in his movements. A stiff paralysis continued at odds with his urgent desire to lash out. At once, he was holding back another part of him, that other half wanting nothing more than to burn all proof of his weakness. This was his face, more than genuine, more than real. He’d throw every part of his identity away if it meant no one had to see it for themself.}

            _{Tossing Jude back with a strength unlike any in his reserves, the man gripped his fist until joints cracked. He knew better than this, the risk of divulging his abilities to another agent monumental, considering what this was. He’d never kill Jude, not like this, not right here. Were this real, he’d have no hesitation.}

            _{❝ Do you ever just… Stop and think before you speak? ❞}

_{Tremors in the fist. Hard as diamond, the man’s exoskeleton had become brittle under the force of his emotions. He bent down, face obscured as he gripped a large shard of glass from the shattered frame. Blood collected at his palm, trickling down the wrist, and dripping onto the hardwood floor. He would clean this up. He would fix this mess.}

            _{Gathering the rest of the frame together, the man tossed the bloodied mess into the trash. The man’s stubborn nature prevented him from making this any better than it could have been. His palm had already stopped bleeding, skin as pristine as the day he was reborn. To him, it was almost as if his body could not bring itself to mourn the loss. It would just keep fixing itself.}

            _{❝ Accidents happen. Get over it, and get out. ❞
He hadn’t once looked the man in the eye.}