[ they're Brood. and Juno's first meeting with a member of his Brood may not have been the most pleasant experience, but it was enough for him to understand what that means. the pull of it, something necessary, persistent as a heartbeat. he's blindsided by the force of his own jealousy. it isn't a possessive or covetous feeling, nothing so violent — he's not threatened by other people being close to Nureyev, least of all because that isn't his place now. instead, it's a bright, envious thing, rooted in that same strong tide of longing that runs underneath his mind. he's jealous that it's so easy for those people, that Nureyev is tangled up in them irrevocably while Juno struggles and makes a mess of it. that someone else feels like home and belonging for Nureyev, and Juno is...

but he's the one who ruined that. he made his choice between the thing he wants and the thing he needs, even if it was a choice he didn't want to make, an ultimatum that Nureyev gave him. it does mean that guilt wells up like blood from a cut, though, and Juno is much more open to guilt than heartache. ]

Uh-huh. You said you just wanted to meet me.

[ he spreads his arms, which doesn't exactly have the same sarcastic effect beneath all the robes. ]

So, is it everything you were expecting? [ afraid of what someone would think of him, having skimmed the information from Nureyev's mind or hearing it straight from him. he can't imagine a single good thing there is to say about him. ] Don't be afraid to say no, a lot of people are disappointed when they finally get me face-to-face — or, you know, veil-to-veil. You're not missing much of the experience with that, by the way.