Don Juan had a difficult time imagining Hudson not being brave enough for anything. He felt invincible, from his perspective. Don Juan may have been slightly older but Hudson had always been the one between the pair of them that had seemed more mature, more put together; he'd been living on his own for years, with his own staff, and a career that actually had some modicum of stability. Don Juan had taken these data points as a sign of Hudson's own internal stability — he had never considered that, unlike Don Juan, Dean might not have had many feasible alternatives.

He reached out to take Hudson's free hand, the one he wasn't using to smoke, and twined their fingers together. They were far enough from the house now that he didn't think anyone would be likely to see, especially not in the dusky light; the moon was overhead but not even half full. He didn't comment on Hudson's parents again.

"Your sister sounds fun," he said instead. "Can I meet her?"

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