Emmanuel had been serious about keeping River in his sight at all times. The only time he felt comfortable not being able to see River was when they had to go into work at different times, and even then Emmanuel had asked River to share his location with him so he could make sure he was okay. It let River see where Emmanuel was too, and that helped calm both of their fears a little.
The only unfortunate part is that River's family also wanted to keep an eye on him, but Emmanuel's work schedule could be more hectic than even River's was. The location tracking gave River a glimpse into just what Emmanuel had to do to earn money each week. The man seemed to have four or five part-time jobs on top of scalping tickets for upcoming shows and sporting events.
Watching it made River wish there was something he could do to help. He knew if he asked his dad, they could probably help Emmanuel get a higher paying job, but he didn't want to overstep. It was late in the day on a weekend that River saw his opportunity to offer, though. Emmanuel dragged himself through the door and sat tiredly on the edge of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and fell backwards dramatically. He just laid there for almost twenty minutes before getting back up and showering.
After his shower, Emmanuel pulled on his pair of house-shorts and sat next to River on the couch that River had insisted they needed earlier in the week. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to sit next to his Pet instead of across from him all the time. "Pet. I think we need a splenda-parent," Emmanuel admitted tiredly.
River gave him a sympathetic smile. "I hate seeing you killing yourself just to make a living. We do have options though. Dad owns the stores, as well as invests in businesses he thinks would be profitable. Usually that means people he networks with, but he gave Carson a job for a while before Carson came to him with a business plan laid out and dad agreed and invested. It's doing well too. Plus, it's not like my salary isn't good."
Emmanuel blinked at River as if he hadn't even considered any of those points. "So..." Emmanuel said blearily, "Pet is Splenda-Daddy?"
River gave a little snort at that. "I think technically I'd qualify as real sugar, but I'm not mad about it or anything. If I can help make your life easier, I want to, Sir."
Emmanuel smiled as he started to drift off to sleep, putting his head in River's lap. River shook his head and went back to his book. River ran his hand through Emmanuel's hair while he slept, enjoying the intimate gesture while reading. When Emmanuel woke up several hours later, River was squirming slightly. Emmanuel sat up and River immediately ran off to use the bathroom. Emmanuel waited for him to return and turned to face him on the couch.
"Okay, so, you were saying that there are options. I hadn't even considered asking you for any help with the apartment because you have your own place to worry about, but I'm not too proud to work for your father if he has an opening for a job I can do," Emmanuel said, making it clear with his tone and eye contact that he was speaking not to his Pet but to his boyfriend.
River gave a small nod and smiled at him. "I'll go over and talk to him tomorrow. He likes you so I know he'll be happy to help out. Dad views family money as ways to help the rest of the family, and that includes his children's partners."
Emmanuel thanked him and cuddled back up with him for a moment before murmuring, "Have you put any thought into dinner? I feel like I haven't eaten in a month."
River ruffled his hair again. "Yeah, let me get up and put it in the oven."
The next day River went over to his parents' house before he had to go to work himself. He still had his travel kit and supplies in the back seat of his car. He came into the house and was a little surprised to see Vinny there with his parents, but didn't show it too much. When he sat down, he got down to business by bringing up what he and Emmanuel had spoken about to his dad, who was incredibly excited to be able to help.
They talked through various options so River could go back to Emmanuel to lay them out and let him choose which direction he wanted to go in. Once River had that written down for later, Gardenia asked River to at least have some food before he left, which he gave in to. While Gardenia went to make food for him, August got a call on his phone that was important so he went to go take it in his office.
That left Vinny and River alone in the living room together. Vinny looked at River with a frown, crossing his arms in front of him as River got up to move around the room a little, putting space between them.
"You've been pretty distant lately," Vinny told him.
"Have I?" River asked him, stopping behind the couch. "There's been so much going on, what with work and the fire."
"We used to be so close before you got that recent boyfriend of yours," Vinny commented. "I don't think he likes me much."
River couldn't argue with that. He had been good at hiding information, but never good at outright lying. "I mean, our relationship is kind of...odd, isn't it?"
"Is it?" Vinny asked, getting up from his spot so he could casually come over to where River was. River was nervous the closer he got, but he didn't move yet, wanting to figure out what he was up to. "Sometimes relationships change over time, grow. I don't think there's anything odd in that."
"We've always been uncle and nephew," River told him as he looked over to the side, not wanting to look Vinny in the eye right then. "Not...whatever we've been acting like for a while."
"You didn't like it?" Vinny asked.
"It's not that," River admitted. "It...I liked it a lot. You were the person I was closest to in the entire world, but...It's not really appropriate for our relationship to each other. We may not be blood related but I've been raised as if we were."
"Maybe if you were still a teenager, but you're an adult, River," Vinny said to him, coming much closer than River was expecting, so there was very little space between them anymore. "We can have whatever kind of relationship we want with each other."
River looked up again, surprised by what he was saying, and Vinny moved in to kiss him. River was taken by surprise at first, completely shocked that Vinny would do something like this, and in his parents' house no less! When he put his hands on Vinny's chest to push him away, Vinny planted his feet so River wasn't able to, pinning him against the table that was behind him.
