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Zachary wrapped his arms around both of the men with him, looking to Gloria for help. Everyone was hurt. Gloria steeled herself a moment, making her way over as best she could. When she got close enough, Zachary reached out with one finger, and Gloria was turned to fill size now. She sat down with them.
Nix looked over to Gloria meekly, his eyes shining with fresh tears and his ears still flattened back on his head. "You've missed a pretty eventful morning, unfortunately…" Cas said softly, trying not to cry himself.
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Gloria opened her arms, for anyone who wanted to come.
"I'm so sorry…" She said softly. How could this have happened? Halm might not have been the best to her, but he never seemed to have any malice. Zachary looked away a moment, closing his eyes to keep from crying.
Nix hesitated before shifting over to Gloria and clinging to her, still shaking violently. Cas huddled up in Zachary's lap, struggling to hold back tears. "I-I thought— h… h-he— was better than this…" Nix sobbed weakly. "I thought he c… c-cared about m-me…"
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Gloria wrapped her arms around Nix, listening quietly.
"I did too," she admitted quietly. "Can you tell me what happened?" She held him close, letting him cry. Zachary held Cas tightly. He touched Cas's cheek gently. It was okay to cry.
"U-Um… I was just sitting in his lap, and he was petting me like normal, but then one time when he pet me, I started feeling all hot and woozy? He… h-he told me that he turned me on, and the only way to turn me back off was by… um… b-by touching me? He called it a handjob… but he… h-he didn't tell me that it counted as sex until like, an hour later… and he knows how I feel about s-sex…" Nix started sobbing harder. "And I… a-and I ran into his room b-because I was upset, and when I was looking for tissues, I found… I-I found condoms in his drawer… I think h… h-he's trying to have sex with me, and I don't— wanna… h-have sex…"
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Gloria gently rubbed Nix's back, listening quietly.
"How did he act? When he was doing it, and later?" She thought a moment. If Halm knew how Nix felt, why did he tell the man anyway? It was confusing.
"He… h-he made it seem like he was just trying to help, b-but I… he knew that I didn't know what he was doing to me counted as sex, and h-he still did it… he knows that I don't wanna have sex at all, and he still did it…" Nix buried his face in Gloria's shoulder. Cas's tears spilled down his cheeks as he listened to Nix, hiccuping quietly.
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Zachary gently kissed Cas's cheeks, holding him tight to himself. He ran his fingers through Cas's hair gently.
Gloria ran her fingers over Nix's head, nodding gently.
"How did he react to you after you find the condoms? Was he angry?" She gently prodded him with the questions, doing her best. She'd never had much experience with someone having been raped just before she met with them.
"U-Um… I told him that I thought he was trying to rape me, and he kinda got worked up? Like, he fell to his knees and I think he was crying and he insisted he would never hurt me like that, b-but technically, he already did, didn't he?" Nix clung tighter to Gloria. Cas tried his best to keep his sobs quiet so he wouldn't disturb Nix.
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Gloria was quiet a moment. She tightened her grip on Nix when he did the same to her, looking down at him gently.
"Do you think he meant to hurt you?" She finally asked. "Or that he made a mistake?" They had made plenty of mistakes, from what Gloria could see, both Halm and Nix. Zachary kissed Cas's head again gently, rubbing his back and rocking him. He let out a faint hum, doing his best to help.
"I-I dunno, I just… if he had told me that it was sex beforehand, then I would have told him no and it wouldn't have happened. I'm just… h-he tricked me, and I feel like he violated my boundaries that were very clear cut. He knew I wouldn't be okay with it if I knew it was sex and he still did it…"
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"So you think he did it just to hurt you?" Gloria let out a soft breath. She still held Nix to herself, keeping her opinions silent for now. It had been quite clear to her that Halm cared for Nix, but this just didn't make sense.
"That he just wanted to touch you like that?"
Nix hiccuped and buried his face in Gloria's shoulder. "I-I don't know… I feel like he wouldn't have done that to me if he really cared about me… he knows more about sex than I do, so I guess he likes it, and h-he and I are… were…? Close, and… um… he knows that I don't want sex, but maybe he still wants it, so he tried to trick me into doing something I don't want to do?"
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"Well, I see… Did he look like he was enjoying it? Did he… Well, did his thing get larger too?" Gloria shifted slightly, her head next to Nix's now. Her voice was soft, but she was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened. She also needed to talk to Halm about it, but for now she focused on Nix.
"I-I dunno, I didn't look… I didn't want to…" Nix sighed shakily. "He said he wanted to show me how to do it so I wouldn't hurt myself trying to do it myself or something… and he said I'm supposed to do it myself from now on." He kept his face buried in Gloria's shoulder.
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"So he made it clear he wasn't going to do it to you again…" Gloria pursed her lips a little. "Most people would would want to rape you in the first place would have told you that they were supposed to be the only one to do it to you. That doesn't change what happened, though. He still hurt you, whether he meant to or not." She was mostly trying to figure out the best way to go about this, because she knew Nix wouldn't be able to leave. They'd have to… Find some way to coexist.
"I don't… I don't know what his intention was, Gloria, but I… I feel like he crossed an obvious line and he knowingly had sex with me when I didn't know what he was doing. Y-You can't just do that to someone…"
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Gloria nodded.
"Yes. What he did was completely monstrous, and intentions don't change that." Gloria rubbed Nix's back again, sighing gently. "How do you feel about him now? About him being near you?"
Nix quickly shook his head. "No! N-No, I c… I c-can't see him right now… I can't…" He whispered weakly. "M-Maybe in a while, but I really can't see him right now…"
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"It's okay, no one is going to ask you to see him before you're ready. You don't have to go anywhere near him." Gloria gently have Nix a hug, rubbing his back with one finger.
"W-What if I'm never ready? We have to live in the same house! I-I can't avoid him! Should I leave?! Should I go live out alone in the wilderness?! In the cave?!" He asked, clearly distressed.
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"There are three people in this room right now who won't let Halm anywhere near you, and I'm sure the goddess won't either. All of us are going to work to keep you safe, okay?" Zachary looked up, nodding with a firm look in his face. Halm wasn't getting anywhere near Nix.
Nix nodded weakly. "Okay, o-okay, I just… I-I dunno…" He sighed. "I don't feel safe around him right now… what we had was so great, y-you know? And then he just… he did this…"
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Gloria nodded.
"He hurt you so much," she said softly. "And we're not going to let him anymore." She gently ran her fingers through Nix's hair.
Nix nodded again, hiccuping a bit. "W-Where did the other goddess go…?" He asked weakly. "She's been gone a while…"
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"I think she went to deal with Halm," Gloria said after a moment. It wasn't long before the door was opened, and the goddess walked in. She was wiping her hands off a bit with a cloth.
"How do you all feel about starting with me for a bit, sweeties?" The goddess asked gently.
Nix nodded a bit, as did Cas. "T-That would be great… thank you, ma'am." Cas replied weakly.
"Should… should we go now?" Nix looked over at the goddess, still holding tightly to Gloria. "Is that even something we're allowed to do? We're his claimed, after all…"
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"Yes, we're going now. I don't want you boys to have to be anywhere near Halm right now." Serna stepped over, already picking Zachary and Cas up to set in the wheelchair.
"And you're allowed to, don't worry. Do any of you need coats? It's getting chilly outside."
Cas and Nix both nodded quietly, Cas huddling closer to Zachary when they were set down. Nix hesitantly slipped off the bed and came over to hold tightly onto Serna's hand, rubbing at his eyes with one fist.
