What Rupert doesn't understand is that everything about this is complicated. Human warmth. Skin on skin. The rise and fall of breath. It's too soon. It's long overdue. When one goes so long without the slightest intimacy, even the lightest touch feels charged. A magnetic pull draws Jonas closer, and though he knows that whatever he's going to get out of this can't possibly replace what he just lost, he can't refuse it.

What hesitation he harbors is for Rupert's sake, and since it's Rupert who's spurring him on, Jonas doesn't hold back. His lips part against Rupert's swollen mouth and he tastes iron on his tongue. Rupert has been taking care with him, so Jonas takes care in turn, applying the softest pressure in every drag of his mouth. A gentle kiss can be just as fervent as a ravenous one, especially with all the neediness that Jonas has pent up behind it. Every time he exhales, the tremble in his breath betrays him.