Raven stuck his tongue out at Wolfe before going to get some candy anyway.

Wolfe waited in the boat.

--

Laurel paused before leaning down and kissing his forehead, "You sure I can't make you something?" she whispered.

Ten minutes later Wolfe came back holding three candy bags in one of his hands. "This one is for you," he explained to Wolfe giving him a bag of vanilla candies that didn't require too much chewing. "This one is for me, and the other is for Frei." But he didn't go to mentioning the decent sized box he was holding behind his back with the other hand.

Wolfe didn't ask as he looked at his candies. He nodded his thanks before starting up the boat.

Raven was a little surprised Wolfe didn't ask about the box. But he put the box and Frei's candies off to the side while he munched on his own candy stash. After a few minutes he walked over to Wolfe and put a hand on his arm. "... Thank you," he told Wolfe before giving him a peck on the cheek.

Wolfe looked confused, he clearly didn't know why Raven was thanking him.

"For kidnapping me," Raven explained after a moment.

Wolfe seemed to have forgotten about that. But he nodded again.

After they had been underway for some time, Raven asked, "How much... do we actually know about Nic?"

Wolfe was silent for awhile, "Not enough," he admitted quietly.

Raven nodded a little, not saying anything for a long while. Then finally he started to spill. "I'm... worried... about his relationship with Laurel."

Wolfe turned to face him, raising his eyebrows a little. That seemed to have perked his interest.

He was still being reluctant to say everything on his mind, but since he started he might as well talk some more. "... Everyone in our group is a little unusual in one way or another, but Nic... I think... there might be something very wrong with his mind."

Wolfe frowned a little, putting the boat on autopilot before focusing back on Raven, "His mind?" he asked.

Raven paused a moment before nodding a little.

"How so?" Wolfe asked for clarification.

"... Just... little things I've noticed," Raven replied quietly.

Wolfe sighed a little, "I'm interested," he replied patiently.

Raven seemed a little worried about him getting too interested. "Well... Laurel's come to me often. After they fight. Which has happened pretty often. And from what I can glean, Nic... is lacking the ability to see the world through someone else's eyes. But it's not like he doesn't try - it's like he's incapable of it."

Wolfe thought about that for awhile, "That's not surprising," he decided.

Raven blinked a little, waiting for Wolfe to explain his reasoning.

"Nic is a cat," Wolfe stated, "He knows how to hunt for himself, take care of himself and live alone. Now imagine this feral cat stumbled upon a baby bird. A tiny, naive little thing who doesn't see the cat as feral or as a threat but as a friend. The cat would be confused, torn between the desire to eat the bird but also to protect it because of the love the tiny thing is giving it. Both desires of the cat are selfish in nature while the bird is completely selfless. Therefore the cat cannot relate to the bird and the bird is clueless about the cat. Their natures are opposite." For a guy who claims to not like metaphors, this was a huge one.

"Huh..." Raven said after awhile. That had actually made a lot of sense. "But... I think it might even go deeper than that," he mused. He thought about it a moment more before playing off the metaphor. "It's like... on top of everything else, the cat has no idea he's a cat. He has no idea what part he actually plays and has never taken the time to acknowledge his own nature."

Wolfe nodded as he took a seat, "How can a bird teach a cat what a cat is? The bird is trying to help but a cat will never fly."

It looked like it might be starting to get a little too deep for Raven. At least Raven who was currently on a sugar rush.

"It can't," Raven decided, figuring that was the point.

Wolfe smiled a little and dropped the metaphor, "The point is, as good as Laurel's intentions are... she is incapable of helping Nic. He'll continue to hurt her without meaning to and in turn, hurt himself."

Raven nodded, agreeing. "... He needs help before they both truly can't take it anymore. I'd really rather not see that day come. For everyone's sake..."

"It needs to be soon," Wolfe replied seriously, "Nic's already seduced her completely."

"... Wait... what?" Raven asked. There seemed to be an implied 'oops' somewhere in there on his part.

"The further things travel physically, the faster they will spin out of control mentally," Wolfe continued.

Raven shook his head a little to catch up with Wolfe. "... Well, before it gets farther, there's something Nic needs to come to terms about for everyone's sakes."

Wolfe gave him a look as if to say 'father?' but he sighed, "What does Nic need to come to terms with?" he asked.

Raven hesitated. "It's a little sticky... And it's been brought up and shot down a few times already, but, in my mind, there is no doubt that Nic is bi even though he denies it."

Wolfe blinked, actually looking shocked for once. "You know, just because you're good looking... doesn't mean every guy is into you," he replied with an amused expression.

"Wha-? No," Raven replied, a little thrown off before recovering. "That's not my proof. But I'll take it as a compliment anyway."

"You have proof that Nic is bi?" Wolfe clarified, not believing him.

Raven was silent as a moment. "Not as in male porn on his pad," he muttered. "But based on our few and far between conversations I'd be willing to bet the rest of my candy that Rosen could easily seduce him. And I always save the best for last." He held up the bag of candy for the last part.

Wolfe paused, "I'll take that bet," he decided.

Raven blinked. "... Really?" he asked like he hadn't in a million years expected him to take the deal. He looked a little longingly at the candy, but he put it down so he wouldn't eat any more.

Wolfe chuckled, "You can just owe me candy if I win the bet," he said. "You take Laurel out for the day and I'll talk to Rosen.