Jono's shoulders hitched up a little, and he was staring back at the floor.

//Both, possibly,// he admitted. //Lord knows, I would love to be a father someday. I just... don't think I'd be cruel enough to pass my genetics on to somebody else. But the timing has me second-guessing it. We haven't been a dedicated couple in... a long while. There's no stability in either of our lives at the moment, and it would be bloody cruel to bring a baby into the world, no matter how stupid Karla and Warren are being about this. Don't get me wrong -- I already care about that child and I'll protect her with my life -- but she was an accident. Making the conscious decision to bring another baby into this situation right now, it seems... ill-thought out. Like a desperate whim. And there shouldn't be any hurry. Raven's still young. There's no timer nearing its end or anything of the sort...//

Jono gave a little nod, leaning closer to Hannibal. Back-rubbing was good. It was doing wonders to get him to relax, at least.

//If I were to make a choice like that, it certainly wouldn't be for fear of disappointing. If she wants a baby of her own, there are plenty of ways to go about having one that don't involve my buggered up genes getting into the mix. It just... I don't even know if she's aware, just what sort of salt she rubbed into it by asking.//

He'd decided a long time ago that he wasn't going to be so cruel as to pass his genes on to a baby. It had been a hard decision to make. This hurt in ways he couldn't quite put words to.

//Other versions of me that aren't ever going to exist?// Jono glanced sidelong at Hannibal, and then shrugged his shoulders. //It's a wildcard, every time. Every. Bloody. Time. And fire... it runs in the family.//

Very broody, but a very different sort, yes.

//I'm not desperate,// he mumbled. //I'm going to be around a long time, if the way my body works is any indication. I'm in no hurry to rush into any sort of parenthood, and there'll never be a shortage of children needing a home, if once I've got my head on straight again, I decide to adopt.//

He shook his head a little.

//I just don't think the island would show me any child that was a certain tragedy. And... so far as powers went, I was a late bloomer. Most mutants manifest at the onset of puberty. My family was still calling me a flatscan until I was eighteen, when I blew my face off.//

In this one particular circumstance, Jono would be just as likely to thump Hannibal back.

//It's not what I would do that I'm afraid of,// he replied, furrowing his eyebrows at him. //It would be disgustingly irresponsible for me to parent a child that might end up sharing my mutation, or as a target of the bloody cult that my family was a part of for thousands of years. Yes, there are good possibilities, there's Angela and JJ, there's Kathe and Elizabeth and so on, but most of them were children. There's good odds that the youngest of them still haven't manifested as mutants. But then there are the ones I haven't been shown. Out of countless possibilities, you mean to tell me that it wouldn't be cruel to any potential son or daughter to bring them into the world knowing there are high odds they'll go through the same hell that I did, or worse given Raven's parentage? Based on a half-dozen examples hand-picked by the island out of infinite possibilities?//

He narrowed his eyes a little and got right back to glowering at the floor.

//If you have a genetic condition that you're guaranteed to pass along to your offspring, something that could potentially cause them years of suffering, and you choose to pass those genes on regardless...//

'Optimistic' certainly wasn't the word Jono was going to use. He shook his head a little, slumping at the shoulders, and then decided, maybe for the time being, it would be for the best to let the topic drop.

Hannibal was right, at least, in that there was no hurry to make a decision about this just yet. And Jono knew perfectly well just how paranoid he could be.

//You're encouraging him now,// he noted, nodding at the cat. //At this rate, he'll be sleeping in your lap in no time.//

//Thought we've established that I'm terrible at resting,// Jono countered, though he was leaning against Hannibal all the same before finally relenting and shifting his weight to lay down. //But I suppose I'd be a terrible guest if I refused out of hand.//

Especially after putting on Hannibal's pajamas.

//You, er, really don't mind the cat, then?//

//No, I didn't think you were fooled for a mmm-nnghh...//

Please excuse Jonothon for just a second, because he needed to sort of writhe about on the bed while he processed that. A quality meat pie eaten with the sort of attention that Hannibal could devote to it apparently had that effect on him.

//... S'just, I was maybe working up to the actually asking part...//

Hnngh.

//He's old, and I can't leave him alone in my apartment here with Angelo and Joni, and he doesn't travel well. Hates the carrier, doesn't know what's going on outside of it. Not to mention... he was th'butcher's cat. I'm not planning on bringing home every animal I find when I set out to kill a man. There usually aren't any. But...//

That was only mild distress that Jono was sending back to Hannibal. He was very much enjoying the food, but wasn't entirely certain he was up for this much sensory overload, and was too damn tired to put up a proper wall.

//Any number of... of staff... used to go t'that butcher for... for food... Ermengarde would've recognized him, or... or anyone...//

He was trying to piece together words, Hannibal. Mean.

Jono had absolutely learned his lesson about surprise cats! Not that he thought another one would get along with this one, anyway. He handled Joni well enough, but that was grudgingly, and only because Joni tended to travel around in Jono's too-deep pockets.

//I'll... keep a lookout,// Jono promised, nodding a little and reaching up to rub at his temple again. //Not many people are in the market for an old cat, nevermind a deaf one, but if you'd rather him gone, I'll try to make your time with him as quick and painless as possible.//

//Headache forever,// Jono mumbled. //Or at least the foreseeable future. It hasn't really let up for months, now. But then, neither have I, really.//

Yes, he was aware what sort of idiot that made him.

//Haven't had a nosebleed yet today. I'll consider that progress.//

//I know, I know, I'm a bloody... stupid...// He closed his eyes and leaned his face into Hannibal's touch a little. //Stupid... son of a... what is that?//

It smelled... minty? And after a moment, it felt quite nice. Tingly. Hot and cold at the same time. Between the cream itself and Hannibal's hands, that was good.