pyrighteous | [OOC] Folkmore IC Inbox

I didn't know they could smell like that...

[ He gets cups to match the plates, then considers what they have in the fridge. Decides to get out a couple of their usual options - water, juice, soda. ]

Ooh, ouch. [Casey laughs. Yeah, he'd thought he was doing okay with cooking up to this point, but Mikey's recipes are next-level.

He grabs juice for himself and sets out the cutlery. It's about then that the timer starts ringing, so the oven is re--opened so he can serve up the food on each plate. Enough for each of them, and some leftovers.]

I-I didn't mean you did a bad job!

[ Mikey's recipes ARE just that good. And he's seeing the process! That makes a difference.

Hunter selects water for himself and settles down with the plate. And just ... sits a moment, enjoying it. Being here with his boyfriend, in their apartment, with food they cooked in front of them, and no one hanging over him to tell him no.

He might be tearing up a lil. ]

[Casey pauses mid first bite, fork in hand. He's so eager to try Master Michelangelo's food and he's so used to digging right in and eating as fast as possible - habit from the rat days - that it doesn't occur to him right away what's going on.]

...Are... you okay?

[Did he say something wrong, does it actually look bad, is it too spicy-]

[ Hunter sniffles a bit and wipes at his face. ]

Everything's great. Everything is - is so much more than anything I ever even knew I could hope for.

[O-oh. Yeah, that... tracks. Quietly, Casey slides his hand over the table to offer it out to Hunter, blinking rapidly. He's probably gonna cry as soon as he bites in, thinking about his uncle, so might as well get an early start.]

Me too... and it doesn't stop here. We'll keep getting more and more... that's how life's supposed to be. You don't ever have to live the way you did again.

[ Hunter takes it gladly, sending over a wave of - well, that conflicted joy. He's so happy that it hurts just a little. ]

R. Right. No matter what, we're not going back to what we had before.

[Casey sends back a similar vibe, but it's coddled up in a wave of calm and reassurance. It hurts now, but over time, surely that will fade into an ache. Casey's still getting used to it, and the pain comes and goes, sometimes aggravated by the situations that crop up here, then soothed by the warm presence of his family. It's been bad lately, but he's working on it. He can get past it. And he believes that Hunter can, too.]

We've got a plan. A place to go, after we leave here. And until then, we'll have each other.

[ He absolutely can. Hunter's already been making strides, of course. A moment like this is more a lancing of built up pressure - good for him, and a good sign in general. ]

I'm so glad, Casey. I don't know what I did to deserve you.

[Being able to express himself openly - to laugh and cry and be happy, grateful, even bittersweet - it's all progress. Casey can easily see the difference between where Hunter started and where he's at now. Time and distance from all the awful things he grew up with will only make it better. He sees it in himself, too, even with the occasional backsliding. They're doing great. It's important to acknowledge that, openly and inwardly.]

I'm not something you have to deserve, you know. I mean, I think you would, if I was, but... um... ahh, I don't know how to say it!

[He can't help looking flustered. Isn't it kind of arrogant? To think he'd be like a reward for whatever good thing Hunter might've done? But Hunter deserves everything! He's amazing! Even if that reward is just Casey! (Except it isn't?) ...This is hard.]

This isn't what we earned, it's... just what we chose. I chose you. We can do that for free.

[Deserved or not.]

[ Poor Casey. They might both be a little bad at expressing themselves, still.

Hunter laughs, though, and it eases some of that happy ache he was feeling. ]

I like that. Choosing, I mean. Partially because I never got to. And - because it means more too. More than just "deserving."

[Maybe a little... words are hard, too.]

Yeah. Saying stuff like deserving it about love feels... I dunno. [A little too much like you-know-who. Transactional.] It's a thing we get to have, even if we screw up or say the wrong thing sometimes... [Like if Hunter keeps a bad secret or Casey yells, that's not very deserving behaviour, but they work through it because of love.]

...I'm glad, too. Really glad that I have you.

[ Yeah. You-know-who indeed. They've already had a good conversation on not making their relationship transactional, and Hunter struggling to get away from that mindset.

It's sort of better to restate it now after they HAVE had a fight, and Hunter has seen proof that he can mess up and still be loved. That their relationship can survive without being perfect. It means this smile comes more easily and happily. ]

Did - did you think we'd end up like this when you first met me?

[Casey grins at that.]

When we first met? No way! I thought at the time I'd be lucky if we parted ways with you not hating me. I wanted to get out of your hair as quickly as possible. At least until you brought up the invasion...

[That definitely shifted things. Before that moment Hunter was so cranky and dismissive because he was human. How could they possibly have been friends? And yet.]

[ Hunter ducks his head a bit at that and laughs. ]

Well now I - uh - want you in my hair as much as possible!

Hmm. For massages, or perching?

[Both? Both. And maybe some other things, too.]

... Both? Everything?

[ He pinks a bit. ]

Everything... I'll have to think of a few more things to do with your hair, then.

[He could brush it... it's getting longer, that might be nice.]

Oh - uh - do you want to?

[ It really would be nice. ]

I like how long yours is. And what you can do with it.

Only if you want it.

[Again, the choice is important.]

Is that why you're growing yours out? So you can do new stuff with it?

[ Hunter nods. And starts eating as he talks. ]

Belos was ... weird about my hair.

[Casey follows suit - get it in there before it's cold! - and has to pause. ...What a flavour. Incredible... Uncle Mikey absolutely nailed it. Even made by novices, the recipe's amazing.

From one good uncle to bad, though...]

Weird, how?

[ It's amazing. Hunter tears up again at how tasty the food is despite the distracting topic. ]

He didn't tell me NOT to grow it out? I actually had it long once - enough for a ponytail. But the look he gave me when he saw it was ... like he saw a ghost.

A ghost, huh...

[Casey grimaces. Awful lot of ghosts in Hunter's history, and Belos' by association.]

Maybe the person he lost had long hair. The one who...

[-the grimwalkers are made from.]

[ Ah, right. Of course. Hunter winces at that, looking down at his plate. ]

You're probably right.

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