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Heavy footfalls echoed off the stairs as the tall man ascended, his easy smile slipping off his face as he drew a rough hand over his cheek. Another day, another dollar, but damn if it wasn't taxing on him. Brad curled his fingers around his neck, rubbing it absently, feeling more worn than he could remember for quite some time. That was saying something, as the man had worked in construction.

It's because it's all social and emotional, he reasoned with a grim expression, peering down the stairs distastefully. You signed on the dotted line, Brad, you deal with the consequences. The Italian heaved a sigh, turning to lumber down the hallway in the general direction of his room, loosening the red tie around his neck until it curled around his broad shoulders like a crimson snake. How he used to do this before, he'd never guess, and part of him was grateful he'd gone on to less exciting and more old-man-like things.

That elicited a quiet but earnest chuckle out of him, shaking his head at himself. Resigning to being old already? Really, he was in his prime, but that was hard to remember when surrounded by such energetic young things.

He would have walked on by without so much as a sideways glance, if not for the strange whuffle that came his way. Brad blinked down the hallway, head turning slowly to observe the human that uttered such a pathetic noise.

His dark eyes softened just a little at the sight he beheld, forcing his feet to stop moving a short ways from the blonde. "Hey," he rumbled quietly, looking over the man to make sure he wasn't hurt. Brad didn't see many people that pale that weren't bleeding profusely from some unpleasant place. Tilting his shaggy head to the side, he pulled the tie off from around his shoulders, hooking it into his pocket. "You okay, kid? You look like hell."

Brad exhaled quietly through his nose, feeling his normal cynical self taking a back seat to the man's plight. He looked so pathetic, even the taller man's cold heart thawed just a little. He reached out to the blonde, putting a steady hand on his shoulder with a little squeeze. "You need to sit down, kiddo. You wanna come talk about it?"

Did he really want that? No, but was he going to leave a person in obvious distress? Absolutely not. It was the damsel in distress thing all over again, and Brad was just about ready to kick himself for being so soft in such situations. Ah well, he couldn't change who he was. That's why this career was working out for him, for the most part.

"C'mon. My room is down the hall, and I need to get out of these clothes. I'm Brad, by the way. You're one of Remi's friends, right?" He was already starting to head down the hallway, encouraging the blonde youth to follow with light tugging on his shoulder.

"Laluce or Luce?" he asked nonchalantly, apparently not one who often dealt with stuttering. Arriving at the end of the hall, he fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked his door. "Mm. You'll have to tell me what this 'stuff' is first." Brad glanced over to Luce, a faint but wry smile curling his lips in the slightest. "If you're worked up over your cat running up a tree, I'm afraid I wont be terribly empathetic." He'd let the younger man decide if he was joking or not, pushing open the door and indicating it was safe for Luce to enter. "Pardon the mess."

His room wasn't messy, not by a long shot, but apparently a few papers spread over his desk was worth being called 'messy.' If not for the fact that he had opened the door, the room might have been mistaken for not being occupied, it was in such a state of cleansliness. "Come on in, make yourself at home...I'm gonna change." Not even bothering to close the door (or perhaps leaving it to Luce), he untucked his dress shirt as he made his way into the bathroom.

There was a brief silence as Brad changed, poking his head back out at the soft thump of Luce sitting down, frowning a little. Damn. Another thing he couldn't rightly empathize with, but...he could listen, at least. "They left you?" he repeated, exiting the bathroom, wearing well worn jeans and no shirt, barefoot. He padded over to the miserable lump of man and frowned deeply. This was something his sister would be better suited to handle, but as she had told him many times before, it cost him nothing to be kind to others in need.

He kneeled down and plopped himself next to Luce against the door, draping one arm over the other's back and shoulders. One leg remained bent while the other laid out straight, affording him some comfort as he gently pulled the blonde against himself in a half hug. "What started it, Luce?" he asked in an unusually kind voice, indigo eyes more blue than usual as he observed the distraught youth.

Brad kept his arm around the younger man, absently rubbing Luce's back every now and again as he listened. Disowning their son, huh? He wondered if this is how the others had felt...but that would make him grumpy to think about, so he quickly pushed it from his mind. As a Host, he had to be supportive of those in training. As a man, he wasn't very good at being sympathetic, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

Try, being the keyword.

"Maybe they're just mad," he offered somewhat lamely. He didn't really know Luce or his parents, but looking at the situation objectively, he could see a scenario in his mind: a selfish and posh family, losing the only son they had who didn't covet the life that they flaunted, the anger and feelings of betrayal that were first elicited. "Just keep trying, kiddo. They're family. They can't stay mad at you forever. Eventually the bird has to push the chick from the nest, but sometimes they aren't ready to when it's time."

He mumbled a little to himself, thinking he sounded awfully foolish. Well. Even if he was talking out of his posterior, maybe his words would bring some amusement. "One thing I've learned is you have to treat family the way you want to be treated. Don't stoop to their level and lose faith. When they come around, it'll make things easier."

Goodness, but he really hoped he was making sense.

Ah, Brad had asked himself that a time or two, and he found the same answer each time. This was something he could help with. "No," he said with certainty, looking down and nearly putting his face into Luce's hair. "Making people happy, being a kind ear, offering a gentle hand...how could that be wrong?" he asked softly. This kid had damn near had Brad wrapped around his finger from the get go, and he'd have kicked himself for it if it weren't so innocent. Luce needed a friend, needed reassurance, and the Italian was still a human being after all. Such things as affection and kindness were things he could afford to share.

He gave the young man a gentle squeeze. "Don't doubt yourself kiddo, you're doing well to be here and make an honest living. With your sweet face, I'm sure you'll have customers lined a mile down the block just to see your smile." Brad smiled a little into that fluffy hair; his Host self wasn't all fake, and he meant every word he said. The young blonde against him was so honest and open - even with someone like himself - that there was no way people wouldn't be doting on him. If he could get an old grumpy-butt like himself to soften, he could win anyone over.

As Luce relaxed, so did Brad, tension he'd held throughout the day draining from his shoulders so that he rested more languidly against the door, still hugging the younger man to his side. His dark indigo eyes lowered to meet the blonde's stormy blues, smiling faintly but with warmth. "Nothing bad in making folk happy," he repeated, squeezing the young man very gently. For some reason, Luce had transcended being a co-worker and moved into being a teddy bear. He was really quite cute, and in his distress and helplessness, Brad had already kicked into overbearingly protective mode. He viewed the other like a kitten seperated from his family, and would treat him as delicately as possible.

"Mmhmm, it can be scary, but it's not so bad because you're not really alone." The man tilted his head to the side, shaggy hair shifting over his brow. "You have all of us. We may be dysfunctional, but for better or for worse, we're all in this together. Like it or not." Brad nodded to himself thoughtfully, "Think of us as your new family. You know where I am, now, so..." He shrugged very slightly so as not to disturb the man nestled against him. "My shoulders aren't soft as pillows, but they're still good for a lean or two."