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 Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:17 am
“I would like that,” Casey admitted, maybe faster than he should have. “I mean… your story. So I can learn more about you and… I mean, I know you must have gone through some horrible things, but it’s really hard for me to not ask you a million questions about everything.”
He sighed, and then laughed softly about the apples.
“Oh, that. I told Morgan I wanted to thank him for helping us. He said he liked apples, so we’ll have to bring some apples with us when we deliver his thank you cupcakes. And he’ll make us some roasted apples. He was really sweet. But he probably would have told us something like… how we should be making friends with bears instead of fighting them,” he snickered in amusement but… oh, maybe now wasn’t the time to be in a good mood since Ariel was obviously in pain and drained from the day.
“Where would we go, if we left Destiny City?” he asked, because looking for a job would probably be easier if they had a head start.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 7:31 am
We. We.
Ariel’s heart skipped a beat. Casey was always saying such nice things, and he’d have been lying if he’d said that the thought of missing his next-door neighbor didn’t weigh heavily on his heart. “Wherever’s hiring, I think. I’ve been too afraid to leave on my own. If I go somewhere where I don’t know anyone or anything, if something goes wrong?” He mustered up the strength for a shrug but it was half hearted. He didn’t want to dislodge Casey’s fingers.
“Somewhere where I could finish my degree. I’m so close.” He’d mentioned that he was pursuing a degree for architecture, but he hadn’t mentioned that the reason he’d dropped out was because it would have been too easy to find him on campus. And, the harassment had cost him jobs he loved. How difficult would it have been to try and get him expelled?
He was too tired to dwell on it. It hadn’t happened, he still had a chance to finish his degree.
“Maybe somewhere with a nice park. For Harrison. I think she liked being out earlier. But maybe a place where we don’t have to worry about bears. I don’t want to make friends with any of them, no matter how nice the forest rangers are.”
Ariel sounded tired, but there was life in his voice. He was happy to be here, happy to have this conversation. He didn’t mind Casey’s questions. Maybe another day he’d invite him to ask a few. But, not tonight. Tonight, he was just so tired. “I don’t have anywhere in mind, though. I didn’t get that far in planning. I can’t afford a big move right now so it’s just a thought on the backburner. What about you, do you have anywhere in mind for us to start looking?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 9:11 am
“I think you’d get more opportunities to find a good job if we went to a city,” Casey hummed, not realizing that he’d been holding his breath until Ariel asked if he had anything in mind for them.
Sure, he’d suggested it first, but he didn’t know what to expect from Ariel. He didn’t want to be away from him now that he’d gotten to know him. And, well, neither of them wanted to give each other up, so that was the best compromise, right?
“My lease is supposed to renew in a couple months. But, well… I was just thinking. If you’re trying to save money… and it’s not like we don’t see each other all the time anyway… oh, but um… yeah it would probably be a pain to get used to a roommate.”
Oh… oh he knew he was being rude. He knew he was being presumptuous and basically inviting himself. He didn’t want to be rude, but…
“Or, I mean, when your lease is up and you wanted to save money. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
That was a little better, right? He just knew that Ariel’s lease wouldn’t be up for a while, and if he wanted to start saving money now, then… well… Oh, but now his cheeks were burning and he definitely couldn’t look at Ariel until they cooled down.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:22 am
“It’s funny that you mention that,” Ariel said after a moment. “...I was just trying to figure out if it would be rude of me to ask if I could sleep on your couch tonight. I…”
Oh, it was too much to ask. Well, maybe it would have been, if Casey wasn’t proposing moving away with him. Or moving in with him.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight. And you always make me feel better.”
Like a fire burning on a chilly night.
Casey knew it might be dangerous, or maybe Ariel hadn’t done a good job of explaining that. But, there was tomorrow. Or the day after. Neither of their leases were going to be up any time soon so they had time to think about it.
“Maybe I could come over more often. To see if we could make good roommates.”
There was a hint of amusement in his voice; he already liked Casey and Harrison, and given how good Casey had been so far he knew he’d be lucky to have a roommate like him. He’d shared space before, and Casey was already better than any other roommate he’d ever had. And he cooked better than them, too.
He just wanted to make sure Casey wouldn’t regret anything. Ariel wanted him to have time to back out before he did something he regretted.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 12:59 pm
Okay, now Casey opened his eyes so he could look over at Ariel in surprise. Not that there was anything wrong with wanting to stay over! He’d been the one to ask him first, anyway! But he wasn’t sure if Ariel would actually want to.
And then suggesting that he come over more often??
Oh… oh now Casey’s cheeks really were red.
“No! I mean. Yes. I meant yet, you can. That’s a good idea,” he quickly tried to explain. He didn’t know why he was suddenly flustered about it when he’d been the one to suggest --
Maybe because Ariel was so private? Oh, but he couldn’t have him sleeping on the couch!
“Oh, but… the bed is better. I can change the sheets and everything. You should definitely sleep there. And I have an extra toothbrush if you didn’t want to go back to your place. I mean, I know it’s just nextdoor but still.”
Okay, now he was just rambling. He was excited for a sleepover, but also because it was Ariel and he liked Ariel very much. It was a little overwhelming to think about how lucky he was at the moment.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 2:11 pm
Ariel’s eyes slid slowly down to his outfit and he was suddenly reminded that he was still wearing the same outfit as he had been earlier and, while it wouldn’t have been the worst choice to sleep in, he didn’t want to mess up Casey’s space with dirty clothes.
For a moment, he was quiet, and then he looked back at Casey. “I should go back to my apartment and actually change clothes. But I’ll bring over a pillow and blanket, too. And I’ll brush my teeth so you can save your extra toothbrush for an emergency. I can’t kick you out of your bed, but if I bring my blanket then we can share. If you want. I can bring my laptop, too. If you wanted to watch a movie or something. I always put something on to help me fall asleep. Especially after a bad day. But we don’t have to if that makes it hard for you to sleep. Does Harrison come in bed with you?”
If it was too forward, he was too tired to care. He would have been okay on the couch, and he wasn’t going to argue about it, but he wasn’t going to make Casey give up his bed just to be a good host. Besides, he could have fallen asleep against him just like this.
Ariel hadn’t felt this safe around someone in a long time. Maybe it was greedy to want to savor what time they had, but–
Maybe it was just nice to dream, too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:26 pm
“She usually does, yeah. But she has her own bed on the floor too that she’ll use when I’m too restless. Oh… I will do my best to not roll around. I don’t always sleep very well, probably,” he grimaced, but his heart was pounding too quickly for him to come up with some better excuse.
“Yeah, okay, if you want to. Oh, but is it okay if I text you in five minutes if you don’t come back? I just… I mean, I want to make sure you don’t get hurt again. And if you want to bring your laptop that would be nice too. I’d like that a lot. I would, um… I’d really like to not be alone tonight. I have Harrison but… I think I’d stay up all night thinking about you.”
Oh, maybe that was too much to say. But he was worried about Ariel! And he liked him a lot and he wanted to make sure he was okay and they were going to test out being roommates, anyway!
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 7:16 pm
He was breathless. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling, but he should have been more wary and guarded his heart so he didn’t have butterflies.
But, he did. Twice as many now that he realized it. He had to force them down.
He wanted to ask what Casey meant by that but–
He didn’t need to know.
“I won’t be more than five minutes. But if you’re worried, you can call. I won’t keep you waiting this time.” Poor Harrison, he had to move her. He’d made it up to her soon. Ariel forced himself to sit up, but when he did so, he made sure to catch Casey’s eyes. “I promise.”
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