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The house was eerily quiet, too quiet. It only reached this decibel of silence when trouble was afoot or on Christmas eve. And considering it was spring meant the latter was not the case. Arno poked his head through the front door, awaiting a crash or bang or anything really. Nothing followed.
Retracting his keys from the door's lock and continuing his hesitancy, he toed off the leather dress shoe. Elise had bought that pair so backs be damned. He lightly padded down the hall, still no motion no loud noise, nothing but the light hum of something on the tv. A familiar cartoon's theme song? Checking his watch, Leon should have been in bed an hour ago.
Over the backrest, Jacob was slump so far down the couch with his laptop propped on his stomach. Sneering at the content of the document. Legs outstretched and feet resting on the coffee table. The most comfortable a disgruntled looking individual could be.
"Comfortable?"
Jacob shot up, nearly tossing the older laptop across the room toward the tv playing Leon's favorite cartoon. Some ninja animal nonsense, Arno tried following it but the slug kung fu episode was too much. Wide eyed and ram rod posture, smiled with too much teeth as his eyes found the ugly wooden clock with roman numerals indicating time. Another choice Arno did not make. "You're home early."
Arno walked around, dropping the plastic leftover bin on the coffee table and fell back on the chaise lounge. Methodically and with a long sigh, he pushed back his bangs. "Can only discuss so much with the ex-wife. Every time is a reminder why there's an ex." With a wave of the hand toward the table, "Help yourself to those, only took them to save another berating."
Not having to be told twice, Jacob snapped the laptop closed and made his way to the kitchen area adjacent to the living room. Having spent most weekends here over the past few months, he easily located the silverware drawer. "That bad? Thought she was getting tolerable post divorce." Inspecting the various forks, all matching and unfathomable expensive to Jacob's own which was a handful of stolen sporks from fast food places.
"In some ways. She's convinced Leon needs to go to some private school closer to her place. Speaking of, how was he tonight?" A menace? Did he steal all the laces in the house and hide them under the sink again? Arno dropped his head back and stared up at the vaulted ceiling. Another excess.
"Honestly, pretty good." Jacob crossed his legs on the couch cushion a few over, balancing the take out container on his lap as he prodded around the leftovers. Some pasta from a place he couldn't pronounce much less afford. Tasted just as good as Ezio's drunk cooking though. "He burnt himself out at the park, ran the trail three times and taught him how to boulder. Wouldn't get down until we had to leave. Hence the early bedtime."
A bemused smile crossed Arno's face at the thought of Leon's unbridled energy and this exhausted looking twenty one year old next to him trying to keep up. "Bath and meds?"
"Even got him to brush his teeth. With tooth paste." Jacob gave him a flash of a smile. That was a victory and only required some compromise on snacks and wearing Batman jammies. Bargaining with children was good practice for his future career, that shit was going on his resume.
"God, how did I luck out finding you. Miracle worker." And he truly was. All the other babysitters had fled after a couple weekends, Leon proving too much a handful. He hated one girl with a passion and told Arno so as soon as he laid eyes on her. She lasted a night.
"He's nothing compared to the kids back home. Clara set my pants on fire... on more than one occasion." Both gave solemn nods of understanding, Jacob cause he had to endure that. Arno because he could see Clara doing that from the limited stories he'd heard about her. They maintained eye contact after that shared moment.
Both exhausted from very different days. The greying strands in Arno's hair a little more obvious in the overhead lighting, showing his age. Maybe it was the free meal provided or the compliment, both winning Jacob's graces. Definitely not the far too many undone buttons, the relaxed posture, or the knowing smirk.
"Just know its much appreciated. If you ever need anything let me know."
Focus on the food, focus on the food. Jacob shifted the container further back on his lap, the pasta was pretty much gone at this point. Shit. Oh wait. "Actually," shifting to his side, returning the container to the table and retrieving the discarded laptop. He flipped the screen up and there was the dreaded document. "What was your doctorate in again?"
Of course he already knew this answer. He was constantly reminded the middle aged man next to him was a philosophy professor every time he spoke to his child. Leon already had an aptitude for debate and name dropped several old dead mens when arguing for more apple juice. Jacob usually just gave in at that point but watered it down as a small solace that he was outsmarted by an eight year old.
Taken aback, Arno blinked a few times, that was a hard left from where he thought it was going. "French Philosophers of the 18th century and how their work shaped the revolutions but I've taught several courses on Western Philosophy." Quickly, Arno adjusted his face to the inquisitive professor with his hands folded neatly on his midsection.
"Perfect, I've been struggling with this essay on Voltaire and Christianity. The sources aren't translated and went through the worst copy machine known to man. Could you look over it... please?"
"Anything with religion requires wine." Arno sighed, peeling himself from the couch to retrieve two glasses of red wine from a bottle under the massive island. One day Jacob would explore that entire island, he currently only knew where the silverware and snacks drawer were. Both vital to know.
With one knee folded under him, Arno took the cushion right next to Jacob and plucked the laptop from his lap. Trading him for the half filled glass of dark red wine. One long draw and grimace followed. "You're in Altair's class? Hardass would expect you to translate on your own." Arno scoffed continuing on reading.
Every few lines, he'd scrunch half his face and resist the urge to immediately correct or lecture on the subject. He took a sip and asked Jacob to explain. This went on for the next hour back and forth. The looser Jacob's tongue got the less convoluted his arguments were. He actually had an opinion on this dead fucker and a strong one at that.
Occasionally, his elbow would bump the other man's or someone's knee would shift and rest along the other. Those small absentminded contacts he would have never thought twice about with anyone else. When the laptop screen finally dimmed to hibernate, Jacob realize he'd finished editing a while ago and was slack jaw staring. Was this how Evie felt when she listened to Greenie spout mile long nonsense about plants?
The entire length of Arno's arm was pressed along his, when did that happen? Jacob's eyes dropped to the point of contact and then he chucked his laptop to the far side of the couch. Before the device made a soft thud against the cushion, Jacob was already straddling the other man's lap and his mouth on his. The rush of far too expensive cologne, brush of five o'clock shadow smacked him.
A brief moment of clarity crossed his mind and he pulled back, wide eyed and dumbstruck. Welp there went this job, damn and it paid so well. And the snacks a plentiful. As he went to stand and book it the hell out of the premise, Arno's hands slide up the sides of his thighs and sat his ass back down.
"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."
"...Did you just fucking quote..."
"Would you like me to quote it in the original French?"
"How about we stop talking continue where we left off?"
"Good job understanding the assignment."
That night Jacob got paid extra for his babysitting gig and in a way a tenured position as well. All while the tv screen asked if they were still watching that damn Kung Fu ninja slug show. More importantly he got an A on that essay and dicked down regularly.