If someone asked him, he'd say his childhood was just fine up until he realized he was gay - and his parents realized the same. But the truth was, Victoria and Cristian had garnered a share of the Sánchezes attention due to being their first two. Ali had gotten the same by being the baby, and Matteo had gotten his share by a combination of acting out - and being Felipe's little helper in the business. Carlos, though, had faded into the background. He'd been quiet, a little shy, and a bit artistic. He hadn't fit, perhaps they hadn't known what to do with him. In any case, all the explicit parental attention he'd ever had growing up had come not from his parents - but from Elisha Kagan and Hadyn Novak.

Who he knew he was worrying now. Just Hadyn right now, maybe, but Elisha would likely hear about it soon enough. He shook his head. "Nothing right now," he said quietly. "But I know. I know you'll always be there if I need something." He glanced back at the door of his bedroom though, before standing up. "For now, I guess I should kick you out," he said with a crooked smile. "The fight's over before it's started if he wakes up to find his boss in the kitchen."

He closed the door behind Hadyn and paused a long moment, staring down the hall before he slipped back out of the shirt he'd tossed on before he'd called Hadyn and moved back into his bedroom. Gael still slept; it was just as well when so many of his insecurities had been exposed like a raw nerve. He unfastened his pants again, tossing the clothes on the chair before he slipped beneath the covers again. "Quédate conmigo, cariño," he murmured as he wrapped his arm around Gael's waist and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Quédate."