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 Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:56 pm
Atticus took his drink when he was reminded and sipped it-- Oh, and he took another few quick bites of his pizza that he forgot about when he got distracted. He was still sniffling a little, but at least he wasn’t sobbing like before.
He would have absolutely slept in the dark and been miserable. It was what he was used to, and he hated it. Other than the street light, but even that was blocked by trees--
No, he wasn’t going back to that place. He didn’t have to worry about using a street light to see the monsters that were or weren’t in his room.
He nodded in appreciation and took another bite, and another sip. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep, so he needed to hurry up and finish so he wasn’t wasting anything. “Very cozy,” Michael agreed while Atticus ate, although there was a hint of amused exasperation in his voice. “Elliot insisted. I had no choice but to listen to his expertise. I know he’s going to be excited to see you. He kept wanting me to send really long messages, but, well…” The little device wasn’t too great with sending a bunch over any short period of time, so Michael tried keeping it simple.
“It’s thanks to Soleiyu that we were able to communicate at all. He’s been a huge help,” Michael said, and he couldn’t help himself when he reached over to scratch Soleiyu’s back, right before his tail.
He’d caught the smile from Devyn again, and it eased him a little more as well. He was just glad that he was there and not on Jupiter. Or anywhere else.
“You’re welcome to whatever you want here. The room across the hall from yours is my little brother’s room. Peter. He will probably come around sometime, but he’s busy hanging out with a friend.”
At least that was what he last heard. He wanted to give the kid some space, but it was probably obvious to Devyn that he was worried about him.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:06 pm
Devyn continued to rub Atticus’ back lightly, gently. There wasn’t any reason to rush, and he wanted him to know that he was safe here. He could have any comfort he needed. Any comfort he wanted.
Soleiyu’s tail snapped a little in unexpected delight; he arched a little to encourage the scratches because he deserved them, and it was like a massage and he liked a little extra appreciation.
Devyn glanced at Michael when he mentioned Peter and he thought there might have been something else to his words but now wasn’t the time nor place to say anything about that. “Well, I can’t blame Elliot. I wanted to send long messages, too.” He supposed that wasn’t a surprise, Devyn liked to talk. He was briefer in text messages, if only because he was still practicing typing, and it was more difficult when he only had a device that would send a message, not tell him if he was writing something comprehensible.
“Thank you, Michael. And if you need anything, Atticus, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re in this together. No son of mine will want for anything.”
If he was going to take care of Atticus, he was going to do it right. Although, everything was technically on Michael’s dime right now. But he didn’t seem like he was worried about spending money, especially not if he’d already gone out of his way to decorate for Atticus’ arrival.
And, it wasn’t like Devyn couldn’t get a job if he needed to! He wasn’t taking advantage of Michael. He’d talk to him later, just to make sure.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:26 pm
Atticus froze for a moment, managed to swallow the rest of the pizza he was chewing, and then dissolved into a new round of tears.
He’d never heard his father call him his son unless it was in introduction, and it had always sounded possessive, like he was just a thing. And while Atticus knew that Devyn was only agreeing to this to help protect him, Atticus couldn’t explain the warmth that filled him at being called Devyn’s son. Michael tried holding back the small grimace when Atticus turned into a puddle of tears again, and he glanced worriedly at Devyn because he really didn’t know what to do with someone so emotional. He’d had people in his life that were emotional, but he wasn’t sure he ever did the best for them, either.
Since Soleiyu seemed to enjoy the scratches so much, he scratched him a little more aggressively. Not so much that it would hurt him, but it was always amusing to see animals lose control of themselves with a good scratch.
“It’s okay, Atticus. Just breathe.” “Thank you,” he managed to blubber after a little while, and rubbed his eyes as dry as he could. “Thank you. I’m sorry, I think I’m just tired.” And overwhelmed by how kind everyone was to him.
But he was looking forward to seeing Elliot and Oliver and Asher. And even if they wouldn’t be able to recognize him, he hoped that they would believe him when they found out.
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