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 Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:41 am
Ilya returned the scrutiny, although, perhaps was a bit less threatened. He just wanted to make sure Yu was good enough for Sterling, but--wait. Again. Not his place. Sterling was an adult, and probably a very capable one, when Ilya wasn't setting off panic attacks.
He nodded and eyed the rest of the work on the fence. "Whatever you like," he answered earnestly. It wasn't his yard. It didn't need to fit his specifications for cleanliness and order. He had his herbs, and he could take care of the weeds, and that was enough.
Yu seemed to know what he was doing, which made Ilya question if he had been responsible for this situation as well.
At least nothing had been broken this time. No one was crying.
This was awkward. Did he stand here? Did he finish his gardening? ...Did he go back inside and come out in a few hours?
Sterling didn't want anything to do with him. Or, maybe he did, he didn't know. He was both waiting for, and dreading, a talk.
Briefly, he thought of Priam, and the misconception that he was his boyfriend. Now, he didn't know who he was, and the question had been floating in his mind since Yu announced himself as his boyfriend. He had been so sure that Priam filled that slot, though in hindsight it was just an assumption. Your ex boyfriend sends over someone to pass along a message--
Or. Maybe it made sense. Yu could have had a temper. He had a mouth on him, at least. Send over someone unbiased, unlikely to want blood. That was the smart thing to do. Sterling was clever like that, probably even in a panic attack.
But Yu knew about him, which meant Sterling wasn't keeping secrets, at least.
Building rapport was about finding something in common to build a relationship off of.
It didn't really work when the only thing you had in common was the same boyfriend.
He drew in a breath, still lost on how to socialize in this context. "Will it be less distracting if I go in for now and just do this in an hour or so? I have time today. I didn't think anyone was home. I wouldn't have come out if I'd seen you."
The downside of trying not to look at the house meant that sometimes you didn't see what was going on at the house.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:13 am
“Don’t flatter yourself, no offense, but you’re not distracting.” He snapped. It was kind of a lie; if he weren’t seeing someone as perfect as Sterling, he’d absolutely have enjoyed the eye candy. But like Sterling, the man was just… Too perfect. Though clearly not since he’d made Sterling cry. “Do what you need to, and I’ll do the same; as long as Sterling is ok, I’m not going to start s**t just because you moved next door.” There had been a time he wouldn’t have been embarrassed by snapping like that, but now he was, just a little. Heat rose in his face and especially turning his ears pink. He’d be lying if he didn’t perceive the man as a threat, more than just a clear physical one. He was pretty, clean, well organized…. his herbs suggested he probably cooked too, probably had money. Had he not ******** up in the past… then there wouldn’t have been a room, and there would never have been sterling. He didn’t really believe in luck, maybe chance. “Besides, I can at least appreciate that you already have space for fresh herbs.” That was civil. He scratched at the red marks the brambles had already put on him and glanced at the sheers before holding out a hand to reclaim them. “Thanks for the help. If your Oregano starts and insurrection, I’ll return the favor.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 12:56 pm
Ilya nodded; if he was offended, it didn't show on his face. He seemed dangerously close to impassive. It was the best response to being snapped at; he didn't want to start something. He supposed Yu might be a little troublesome, if he'd had to guess. Protective of Sterling, obviously, but in that way that seemed to imply he might have thought Ilya was a threat to them. Overprotective, maybe, but Ilya couldn't blame him after Sterling's response.
Bold, a little rough around the edges. He'd been in some tussles, judging by the scars Ilya had seen, but that didn't necessarily imply that he was bad. Jumpy and a bit defensive, so probably on edge. Again, Ilya couldn't blame him.
Yu's cheeks and ears were pink, and they hadn't been a moment ago, so that probably wasn't sunburn. Embarrassed about this? So maybe just a little more bark than bite.
Maybe. Not a theory he was going to test.
But. Civil. Making an effort.
Ilya could do that, too.
The shears were relinquished without protest and he found himself nodding, even managing a polite smile. "I appreciate it. The oregano hasn't given me trouble. The rosemary, on the other hand, is not agreeable."
And yet, he still spoke of his plants with fondness, and glanced back at them. "...It's the first time I've been able to have a backyard for them. I used to only be able to grow a few out of the windowsill at the apartment. But this was the whole reason I wanted a house. That, and to have a little more space."
He pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth and moved to pick up the watering can, figuring he might as well be productive and do what he came out here to do. "Now that I have all this room, I wanted to trying growing more. But, a few of these are new to me." He glanced up at Yu again even as he meticulously watered each one. "Do you have experience growing herbs?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:40 pm
That question, simple though it was earned a startled laugh. Yu didn’t consider himself to remotely look like someone who might have done anything as fancy as growing herbs before. “No.” he shook his head, the brittle glass of that laugh falling away as he composed himself. “No, moved around too much.” He said shrugging it off. It was true enough he wouldn’t have to remember any kind of story or excuse. “I just cook with them, the fresh ones are jus better, smell better, better taste. Maybe after we finish cleaning out this mess.” He nodded vaguely towards their own back yard. It still had the signs of being overrun, likely more so than it was now. He had no desire to find this man agreeable, but he was a very good sort of cautious polite. Maybe that was part of why Sterling hadn’t wanted him to kill the b*****d. He stepped half again towards the thorns and started clipping at some of the more accessible branches again, tossing them into a pile he could attack with a rake later.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:08 pm
Ilya didn't seem in the mindset to criticize their backyard; he had been working very hard not to look at anything related to the house, but Yu had given him an invitation and he scanned the overgrowth with understanding.
Yardwork was a lot to maintain, on top of a job. And school. He assumed Sterling was still in school and could guess as much about his...
Boyfriend.
Ilya made a brief noise of contemplation, filing away information like he had some reason to. No, this was being polite. He wasn't collecting information for a report.
This was just neighborly.
"Maybe by then, mine will have grown enough to share. If you'd like." He wasn't looking at Yu, just carefully making sure each herb got the precise amount of water it needed. There were no signs of rain for the next few days, and even with the seasons changing, he was still being careful. He had time to set up something more substantial and protective before winter, to make sure the plants could thrive.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 3:24 pm
“I’ll… think about it.” He said carefully. He refused to commit, things could go quite wrong after all. Besides he needed to be sure of sterling first. He didn’t want to be the person who said things like ‘you’re just exaggerating’ or ‘it can’t be that bad.’ like people had told him before. “You cook with them?” He asked. - Neighborly, learning. He grabbed at a higher arch of thorns, jumped so he could catch it, they snagged at him through the glove but he didn’t make a sound this time, just pulled it down so he could snip it and toss it in the pile. He wondered if the last people who lived here grew things like herbs. That sort of garden would be … nice. Tomatoes, carrots, hell he could even be picky and refuse things like peas because those always turned up stupid places and tasted like green paste. He wondered if he was being judged the way he was judging, people seemed to like to judge after all. Did ‘perfect’ seeming people do that too? They must…
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 4:08 pm
"I try," Ilya answered honestly. "My job doesn't have stable hours. I was trying to let the neighbors know, so when my car pulled in and out at weird hours, it wasn't anything to worry about. At my apartment, they called the police on me, once," he mused, setting down the watering can.
"It's not really a good look when someone you work with shows up at your door to investigated alleged criminal activity," he mused, picking up the bag and spade as he moved a little closer to finagle with some weeds now while they were small.
He didn't know why he was talking. He didn't usually like to share, but maybe there was a desire to prove himself in some way to the man who had replaced him.
...No, it wasn't like that. He couldn't think of it like that.
Sterling and Ilya had gone different paths. It was fine. He missed his friend more than he missed his boyfriend, but he'd burned that bridge with negligence and avoidance. "Sometimes I have time to make a meal. Sometimes I have time for fast food. When I do cook, it's the same meal for a week, but. That's how it goes when you cook for one. You cook for...three? I met Priam the other day. To be honest, I thought he was Sterling's boyfriend. I'm sorry for that," he said, as though the thought must be voiced so he could apologize for it.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 5:07 pm
The idea that cps might be called raised no small amount of alarm from Yu. His eyes locking with Ilya for a moment before he lowered his gaze and thanked his lucky stars that had not happened to him. “That’s shitty…” He said after an anxious moment. The thought of eating so much fast food gave him mixed feelings; for someone who seemed so rich, it was something that just seemed very… He made a noncommittal noise as much to himself as to push the thought down and away. “Depends; Priam isn’t always here.” He shrugged. “Mostly I cook for work, it’s nice. I used to just take home left overs from the restaurant. That was a pretty big selling point. The Deserts always get fought over… makes sense, though, who doesn’t like dessert?”
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 5:42 pm
"It's an inconvenience. But I promise, I'm not a robber or anything. I checked the statistics for this neighborhood and it has remarkably low crime--for Destiny City, it seemed like a great choice. I didn't want to be the new neighbor that was up to anything, or for people to not know who I was and think I was breaking in when I come home at three in the morning."
He didn't ask where he worked, that was too prying. It didn't matter, anyway; Ilya might have just added it to his list of places not to go. This was fine. This was their own domain--sort of. He didn't want to intrude again.
He would have to pay attention to what cars were in the driveway, but he was suspecting now that Priam might not live there at all. Which, that's fine, but there was a brief concern that perhaps his visitation the other day caused trouble for far more than just Sterling.
He let out a soft sigh, almost inaudible, and pulled up the weed so carefully that he didn't get any dirt on him. He disposed of it in the bag and moved to the next little patch, still only a few feet away from where Yu was. This was better than any awkward silence, at least.
"I imagine you don't have a need for fighting over that dessert, though. I'm glad Sterling's still baking. It's tough to compete with that." He spoke earnestly, perhaps a bit nostalgic, but there was no desire or jealousy in his voice. "Even if we followed the same recipe, his always came out better. He said the secret ingredient was love, I don't know if he still says that."
Too much, reel it in.
"You know. I'm sorry about that. I don't mean to keep talking about him. I'm not here to try and win him back or anything," he said, figuring it was better to be blunt about it. "...I really just moved here for the backyard. And the low crime rate. And for a place that didn't smell like stale smoke. I wouldn't have picked this place if I'd known what it was going to do to him. I didn't know he was here. I didn't mean to mess this up."
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:29 pm
“It’s fine; he’s worth talking about.” He said, staring down into the thorns; more or less, at least, there was still a clear sort of awareness of Ilya that reflected in how he faced the bushes. “And like I said, I'm not gonna do anything as long as he’s ok. Besides, if the neighbors want to b***h about odd hours, it’ll be about both of us. I pick up extra shifts sometimes.” He did… sometimes they weren’t for the restaurant was all. “As for deserts, I… hadn’t asked him that, if you ever want an inedible disaster that’s… me trying to make a dessert. Dinner, I got covered.” He made a small face at the so neatly pulled free weed. How the hell dod anyone manage that anyhow? Damn perfect people…
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:49 pm
Ilya managed a little smile at that, like the idea was genuinely amusing. He didn't laugh, didn't tease, didn't mock. It was just a nice thought.
He appreciated duality, as long as differing extremes didn't cause conflict.
To this day, he found himself avoiding sweets simply because they weren't good enough. Sterling had spoiled him and it was a befitting punishment, that nothing should ever taste so sweet as the cookies he could whip up.
It was how Yu said, 'He's worth talking about' that lingered in his mind, even as he pulled another weed. He was crouched carefully, putting more strain on himself than he needed to just to avoid putting his knees in the dirt.
"Well, if I see you coming home late, I'll leave the police out of it, too. I'm glad you two compliment each other. They say--"
He paused abruptly at the sudden sound of a pre-programmed ringtone suddenly erupting from his back pocket. "--I'm sorry, excuse me," he said, and pulled off one glove, holding it carefully in one hand as he stood. He pulled out his cell phone and the expression on his face looked tired.
"Ah. Work." He turned off the ring tone but it was clear he meant to answer it. "I work for CPS, it's one of my families, so I need to take this. It was nice to meet you, Yu. I enjoyed talking with you. I hope it's not too bold to say that I hope we run into each other again."
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 7:03 pm
He looked up first, expecting the phrase to finish with ‘opposites attract’… which he was already applying to how different he and Sterling were, Sterling being the best kind of perfect people and Yu being… himself. But when he heard where Ilya worked. He swallowed hard, “Oh….” He felt like he was out of air for a moment, but there was no way… “Uh… I hope it goes…well.” “I uh… I won’t call the cops either… promise.” He murmured. He swallowed hard and turned back to the thorns, trying to focus on them and not think about … rather a lot of things.
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