The feeling of your presence behind him like a shadow has become an almost expected sensation at this point. Every time he wakes up, he's expecting that when he treks downstairs with a mess of bed head and unruly feathers after tugging on a shirt, that you'll be following along not soon after.

It's not like you're his. In all honesty he doesn't know who you're from. Whether you're just some ward that the professor scouted, picking your mutation manifested. Or whether they'd picked you up on the streets, bleary-eyed with a tear-stained face after startling both yourself and your family with a random outburst. He's not one to ask, and you don't seem eager to tell, at least to him anyways. He's never been the best at reading people.

But regardless, you seemed comfortable around him for one reason or another. Whether that be because he'd been the one to lead you to your room on the first day, or because he was the one who you happened to end up falling asleep next to after you'd wandered into the living room on your first week. To be fair, it hadn't been intentional. He'd only been on the couch wide-awake at an ungodly hour of the night because of an ill-timed caffeine shot, but to his credit, he'd been quiet when you'd slumped down on the couch. After you'd passed out, his conscious had gotten the better of him and he'd found a decorative quilt, wrapped it around you before eventually carrying you back to your bed after her decided to try his hand at sleep again.

Suffice it to say, for one reason or another, you trust him, and he's willing to accept the position of "role model" that Scott had insisted, came with that trust.

So when you're on the couch again, practically trembling as you bolt up-right at the sound of him bumping into the doorway, more than anything he'd like to hold you like an overprotective animal, clinging to you to ensure whatever rattled you, doesn't occur again. At least not while he's around if he can help it.

But he knows that's probably not the best option. Over reactive and suffocating. No that's probably not the best thing. A good role model should handle this calmly and ask the nature of your issue. A good role model-

While you're not pulled tight into his arms, he did make it a point to sit close-by and pull you in to lean against him, practically cupping your form against him. He allows the two of you to sit in silence for a few minutes. Letting you take the initiative to tell him what's wrong or not. But if you'd rather keep quiet, and just sit till you fall asleep after tiring yourself out from crying, he's more than okay with that too. He's already eyeing a quilt.