"Is he awake yet?" Kastor asked as Dante entered the kitchen, buttoning up a clean, not bloodstained, white shirt.

"No, not that I can hear," Dante perched on the stool at the breakfast bar, watching his son frown at a cookbook, "you don't need to make him a three-course meal, Kas."

"I think he will be hungry when he wakes, El was, and I read that being in that level of pain drains energy, you need to replenish it," Kastor murmured as he flipped the page.

"Eloise had been tortured, we didn't know the last time she had eaten. Fionn was only shot."

"And strangled," Kastor added with a sympathetic smile that bared the tips of his fangs. They weren't of the same length as Dante's, then again, he had walked the earth much longer than his son, there were many differences between the two. Kastor flinched as the blade he was using sliced into the tip of his finger, watching the blood ooze sullenly from the wound.

"Maybe you should choose catering as your next degree, if we are to have so many wolves in this house, it would prevent you injuring yourself so often," Dante murmured, barely even noticing the savoury, metallic smell of his son's blood. He would heal in a few seconds, the cut had barely broken more than a few layers of skin. Glancing over his shoulder, Dante sighed and rose to his feet.

"He's waking, I should go explain what happened," Kastor nodded, cleaning the chopping board and blade.

"Are you going to tell him, father?" Dante stopped in the doorway, his icy glare set on the staircase before him.

"Not yet, he will think I'm insane."

"You're going to tell him at some point though, right? You can't keep this to yourself forever, father," Dante didn't bother to answer, it felt as though he had had that exact same conversation with Kastor a thousand times over in the past few months. Instead, he took to the stairs, walking up the deep red carpet and running his fingertips over the varnished dark oak of the bannister like he always did.

He could hear Fionn's breathing pick up, becoming ever so slightly more erratic the closer he got to consciousness. He thought it best to be there with him when he awoke fully, he didn't want him agitated, he would likely break something then and many items Dante owned were irreplaceable.

He didn't bother to knock on the door to one of the guest rooms, instead just walking in and closing it behind him. Kastor would still be able to hear every word they spoke with ease but the sound of the door closing symbolised a need for privacy in their house, Dante knew his son would try his best to ignore the conversations he had.

Fionn was in the same position Dante had left him in, thankfully only in the beginning stages of waking. The vampire was unsure how long it would take him to slip from unconsciousness, it had been a fair few hundred years since he had been knocked out himself. Fionn was also a wolf, he may heal faster than humans, Dante didn't know.

A few minutes passed before a soft groan drifted from Fionn's slightly parted lips and movement appeared behind his closed eyelids. Dante found it fascinating to watch him wake, he had not been present when Eloise awoke though Kastor had told him it was an odd experience.

"Dante?" Fionn's voice caught in his throat, sounded broken and husky. His eyes were fully open by that point, those bewitching gold citrine iris' trained on the vampire.

"Good evening, Fionn," Dante spoke with the same smooth tone he always did, nonchalant and deep, "do you need a drink?" though Dante had recently had an injured wolf in his home, he had not learnt much due to Kastor spending the majority of the time caring for her.

"Please," Fionn rasped, sitting up slowly with a hand on his head. Dante walked over to the dresser opposite the large bed, pouring some water from the clear pitcher into a glass. At the sound of a gasp from the wolf, Dante's attention drew to Fionn immediately.

"What is it?" Fionn was running his thumb over the skin on his thigh where the bullet had entered, his eyes wide. It was completely healed, obviously, Dante hadn't wanted Fionn to experience the pain of that or have the scar. He didn't mind healing others, seemed to be doing it a lot more recently. Dante relaxed, placing the glass of water on the bedside table next to Fionn as he sat on the edge of the bed, ensuring he left significant room between the two in case the wolf's reaction turned malicious.

"I apologise, I thought you would be more comfortable if your jeans remained on so I had to cut through them to get to the wound. I will pay-"

"You saved my life, Dante, fuck the jeans," Dante tensed as Fionn leant forward and engulfed him in a tight hug. He wasn't sure what to do, whether to return it or not, he had not been so close to a wolf for a very long time. Fionn seemed to notice the vampire's discomfort and sat back, a blush on his cheeks and a simper on his lips.

"Sorry, I didn't think..." Fionn trailed off, averting his eyes to his butchered jeans, tugged on the jagged fabric absently.

"It's fine," Dante said stiffly, holding the glass of water out to the wolf, "drink," Dante refrained from making a joke about how obedient Fionn was as he took the glass from him and sipped the water slowly.

"You may shower if you like, the bathroom is just through there," Dante motioned to the second door in the room, "there should be fresh towels and I can find something less destroyed for you to wear," Dante stood, walking toward the door he had entered through.

"Thank you, Dante," Dante's lips curled at the edges, a smile he hadn't allowed for a long time tugging at the corners of his mouth, "really, you saved my life, I owe you everything," Dante opened the door, stepping through and speaking just before he closed it.

"Consider it void, Fionn," he did enjoy playing with the wolf, he found it more amusing than he thought he would.

Hearing the soft chuckle from Fionn, Dante walked to his own room. It had no bed, therefore couldn't be called a bedroom. He didn't spend much time in there, it was essentially a walk-in closet. He spent more of his time in Kastor's study or his own office.

Dante surveyed the rows upon rows of suits, assuming Fionn would want something more casual. He didn't own many casual outfits, had a few pairs of jeans here and there but the majority of his wardrobe was made from suits. He was a businessman after all.

Moving to the right of the room, Dante opened up a drawer that housed clothing he offered to one time lovers he had over every so often. Sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies. Items of clothing he really wouldn't choose to wear above his suits.

"Woah," Dante didn't react at the sound of Fionn marvelling behind him, he had heard the shower turn off and knew the wolf would come in search of him, "what is this?"

"My room," Dante replied blankly, taking out a pair of black sweatpants and a steel grey t-shirt.

"Your bedroom? Where's your bed?" Dante chuckled lightly, turning to see Fionn with just a white towel wrapped very loosely around his waist.

"I don't sleep, Fionn, I'm dead, I have no need for it," Fionn regarded Dante with raised eyebrows.

"Really? What do you do all night?" Dante passed Fionn the clothing and turned away so he could change. He had seen him naked before quite a fair few times but had always assumed he would like privacy when changing, who wouldn't?

"I read, paint, watch movies, listen to Kastor playing whatever instrument he decides he wants to learn," Dante turned back to face Fionn when he knew he was dressed, "speaking of my son, he made you something to eat, insisted on doing so. Though, I warn you, he isn't a great cook just yet," Fionn walked with Dante from the room but instantly stopped at the first painting on the wall.

"My God, this is amazing. Did you paint it?" Fionn happened to be looking at a rather old painting of Dante, one of the first that Kastor had ever completed.

"Kastor did, it's probably just over two millennia old by now," Dante no longer kept many of his own paintings, unless he truly couldn't manage to part with them, he sold them in his gallery under a variety of aliases.

"He's amazing," Fionn marvelled, tearing his gaze from the painting to continue their way downstairs, "what are these?" Fionn asked, distracted once again by the framed diplomas at the top of the staircase.

"Kastor's PhDs."

"He has four PhDs?" Fionn's eyes were wide, which made Dante smile once again.

"He enjoys to pour himself into work for his eternal life, though I have no idea why. I believe he's trying to be more intelligent than me. He should be finishing his fifth in the coming months. The first he got was English Literature, then Music, Arts and Languages. His latest will be Psychology."

"He sounds dedicated, what instruments can he play?" Dante's smile grew slightly as the two finally ventured down the stairs, he knew Kastor could hear every word and would no longer refrain from listening in.

"Piano, flute, violin, cello and he's currently learning guitar. He can also speak German, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Greek and Arabic. We used to travel far more than we do now, his professors think he's gifted," Dante led a speechless Fionn into the kitchen, seeing Kastor just plating whatever he managed to make.

"I can play the harp as well, father, and I know a little Japanese," he murmured with a bashful smile.

"Of course, how could I forget?" Dante sat with Fionn at the breakfast bar and Kastor slid the plate in front of him nervously.

"I haven't had grilled cheese since I was a kid," Fionn said with a chuckle, "thank you, Kastor," Fionn began to eat, which Dante really thought was an odd sight. He still wasn't used to seeing Venice eat when she stayed over.

"It's Ven's favourite... and the only thing I can make," Kastor busied himself cleaning the utensils he had used.

"Maybe I can teach you a few things sometime," Fionn murmured and Dante had a feeling he probably didn't mean to say it out loud.

"I texted your beta from your phone, she kept calling. I put that your appointment was running late and you didn't know when you'd be back. I assumed not informing her of what really happened was a better idea," Fionn nodded, covering his mouth as he yawned, "is it late for you? You may stay over if you like, many of my coven members roam my land at night, hunting and so on, it would be safer for you to just stay here tonight," Dante thought he was being polite but Fionn looked more shocked than he had all night, "don't feel as though you have to if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's not that. I just really wasn't expecting you to say that. I mean, having a wolf in your house, wouldn't that be odd for you?"

"It wasn't odd with Eloise, it's strangely soothing to have a living being here. I can find you something else to wear tomorrow and you may stay in the room you awoke in. It is rarely used," Fionn nodded, glancing toward the clock before rising to his feet. It was 12:20 am, Dante wondered how long the wolf needed to sleep.

"I am actually really tired so I think I'll just go to bed," he said, looking around the kitchen, clearly taking in his surroundings.

"Good night, Fionn, sleep well," an odd phrase Dante had not said for well over a millennium.

"Good night, Dante."