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 Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 1:53 pm
When Oliver was out of sight, Yves breathed a sigh and sank back onto the couch. The weight of no sleep all night descended on him like a heavy blanket and he closed his eyes. Just a few more minutes. He just needed a few minutes to rest his eyes.
Easing down onto his side, he curled up into himself and decided a few minutes would really be alright.
Feeling pumped from their prior success, Yuri was now looking around the room for other things for Laurel to lighten up. Ohh boy, Yves was not gonna like it if Yuri kept going with the feeding thing. His eyes landed on the tv and his lip curled into a mischievous smile.
"Here." He picked up the tv, not bothering to unplug it, and held it in front of himself for Laurel to look at. It was an older style of television, the big boxy one. It was cumbersome to move around and he saw Yves give it a disdainful look more than once when he'd passed through. He'd be doing his dad a favor by having Laurel lighten it. Yves wasn't the strongest person, after all.
Making sure to hold the tv securely, Yuri pressed it toward Laurel and raised his eyebrows encouragingly at him. "Go ahead, try this. But I'll hold onto it for you."
Just in case. He could see that Laurel had a similar build to him, and was likely also quite strong, but he didn't want to risk it and allow the tv to crash to the ground before it had a chance to have its weight lifted. He also wanted to actually feel the tv get lighter, how could would that be? He waited in anticipation, but the sound of Oliver's voice cutting through the door caused his ears to perk up and he turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Glancing at Laurel and then back at the door, Yuri called, "We're fine. Um," he wavered, unsure if he should ask, but decided to and added, "Is my dad okay?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 2:42 pm
Laurel's ears gave a twitch. Oh, the big light box! That seemed like a good idea... But how was he supposed to know what to do? He'd held the lamp in his hands before. Would it work even if he wasn't holding it?
Tentatively, he placed his hand upon the television and concentrated on how it felt. It was warm, likely from it being left on, but didn't feel like much else. Still, he continued to focus and eventually felt that same pulling sensation from before. To this, he grinned.
"I feel something!" He exclaimed, tracing his free hand along the hand on top of the television. "It feels like I'm pulling something out of it. Maybe I can make it go faster?"
He focused all of his energy upon his fingertips and took a deep breath in. The feeling didn't really strengthen or speed up, but it was still there. Warm, tugging, and comforting. It almost made him feel like purring as it climbed up his arm, cascaded over his shoulder, and gathered over his chest.
However, as the feeling settled and seemed to disappear, another strange feeling emerged. His body, unbeknownst to him, had taken too much for him to handle in one sitting and was taking it's time to process it. Not knowing what to do about this of course, Laurel simply removed his hand from the television and hovered toward the wall.
"Uh... Why did the screen go black?" He asked, eyeing the screen carefully before Oliver's voice caught his attention. "Dad, dad! I defeated the hungry!"Oh, good, at least they were fine. Oliver took a breath and rubbed at the back of his head. ... Wait, did they turn the tv off?
"Your dad's taking a rest, Yuri. He's got a headache, that's all." He replied, his eyes widening at Laurel's comment. "Hungry? What are you talking about? Can I come in?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 4:02 pm
Sure enough, the tv felt lighter and lighter in his arms. Yuri beamed at Laurel and lifted it up and down with greater ease. As Laurel backed away, Yuri tilted his head at him. He was going to answer him, but decided to remain quiet while he and Oliver went back and forth.
He wrinkled his nose. A headache, huh. As a young frei, he still didn't know how to take care of someone the way Yves took care of him. He had no choice but to trust what Oliver was saying -- after all, he would know better than Yuri. Right?
Still, he felt apprehensive as he floated to the door and opened it. He stared at Oliver for a few moments before greeting him with a hesitant, "Hi."
After another short pause, he moved to the side and gestured for him to come in.
"We're just... figuring some stuff out," he confessed, watching Oliver cautiously. He didn't mind Oliver at all, but the whole thing with his dad had made him feel - in general - uneasy. He drew his shoulders up with a stiff sigh.
"Laurel's okay now, though," he added confidently, not quite understanding the amount of alarm those words would likely cause for any guardian. All that mattered to him was that the crisis had been averted successfully.
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 6:21 pm
Yes, hello, hi. Oliver looked as though he'd dodged a bullet and couldn't manage more than a subtle nod as a greeting. He entered as he was gestured and, albeit cautiously, moved toward Laurel and the television. He'd heard it on just a moment ago, but why had they moved it down to the floor like this? Something in his gut twisted, telling him what he was already afraid of, and his gaze slowly to Yuri for an answer.
"...Figuring some stuff out?" He asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. However, Yuri's next comment sent his head spinning toward Laurel. "Something was wrong? Why didn't you tell me? Are you alright?"Laurel watched his father enter the room with a grin on his face. Oh, wouldn't he be so proud to know that Laurel had defeated the hungry all by himself? He purred at the thought and hovered toward Oliver, expecting him to erupt into a smile as well, only to lean back as he was questioned. With a slight pout, he motioned to the lamp and the tv.
"I'm fine! Yuri helped me figure out why I was so sleepy!" He exclaimed, reaching out for Oliver's hand. "He said I was hungry, so he gave me stuff I could eat. Nothing bad happened, dad!""You-wh-You ate..." Oliver stammered, holding his hands out and glancing about. "You didn't literally chew on the television and the lamp, did you?""No! I just touched it!" Laurel replied, glancing over to Yuri. "Yuri held the light box for me the second time, though. He was afraid that I'd drop it."The light box? Oliver shook his head. He'd correct Laurel's vocabulary later because, right now, he was focused on making sure he didn't upset Yves any further. He knelt down and fiddled with the buttons on the television.
"It won't turn on." He heaved, smoothing his hand across his face. "What am I going to tell Yves?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:01 pm
"It's fine," Yuri replied, feeling himself get a little defensive. Why was Oliver reacting that way? Everything was fine. While he'd been pre-occupied with Yves, Yuri and Laurel had figured it out on their own. He guessed he could understand about the tv, but they had just gotten done ruining the telephone in their house the day before. Wasn't this just how it was gonna be from now on?
Peanut, ever the guardian watchdog, darted out from his hiding place under the bed and ran circles around Oliver, barking. Yuri stooped down and picked him up, turned to Laurel, and laughed. "Do you think you could make him lighter, too?" Peanut's tail wagged underneath him as he leaned forward to try to sniff at Laurel.
Yuri watched Oliver out of the corner of his eye as he tried to fiddle with the tv. Thinking on it, he drifted down to be closer to Oliver's level and held Peanut to his chest to keep him contained.
"It's really okay," he assured, keeping his voice even. That was how people sounded reassuring, right? "It's not like I'll ask for a new one, I didn't know it was going to break but it's okay. Yves doesn't even have to know."
He'd just set it back up on the dresser and leave it. Yves would probably be happy to see him doing something other than watching tv, anyway. A win-win all around.
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:23 pm
Laurel didn't know why his father was upset, but he didn't know what to do about it either. Instead, he hovered close to him and tilted his head, as thought he could understand him better from another angle. However, Peanut's running and barking surprised him, and he immediately zoomed over to inspect the dog.
"Puppy! I didn't know you had a puppy!" Laurel cheered, reaching a hand out to pet Peanut until Yuri moved toward his father. He followed, dutifully, and finally pieced everything together.
"Oooh... I broke the light box." He muttered, pouting. "... I'm sorry." Oliver's heart could have hopped right out of his chest when Peanut suddenly appeared and was very grateful for his containment. Still, it was obvious now that he looked nervous, judging by how both boys were reacting, and he let out a long sigh.
"If you say so, Yuri, I suppose he doesn't have to know." He said, giving Peanut a cautious eye.
"I still feel bad about it, though. I mean, I hope this doesn't become a trend, breaking each others things every time we see each other. I think we'd grow tired of it sooner or later."
He stood and smoothed his pants out, before looking to Laurel. He wasn't angry, but that pout would probably win him over in future, if they ever argued.
"It's alright, Laurel. You were only trying to figure things out." He soothed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Just... Try to be more careful from now on.""O-okay." Laurel replied, giving a subtle nod. "I will."Good, Oliver thought, and turned his attention to the door.
"Why don't we go check on Yves?" He offered, adjusting his collar. "He was wondering what you two were up to."
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:40 pm
Peanut looked pleased with himself as he sank back into Yuri's arms, his stubby little legs sticking out like twigs from a log. Yuri tried to get him out walking as often as he could, but it was going to take a lot of work to get Peanut in shape.
Yuri's ears pinned back and he mumbled, "It wasn't Laurel's fault." He looked from Laurel to Oliver, eyebrows drawn down to accompany a tiny frown. "I'm sorry... it was my fault. Laurel was just doing what I told him to do."
He looked, in essence, the very image of a sad puppy. If a sad puppy was muscular and stone-faced, anyway. He hadn't thought about the possibility of the impressionable Laurel getting into trouble on his behalf. Although Oliver didn't seem mad, it was something he needed to take into careful consideration in the future. He felt partially responsible for Laurel, for some reason. Like he had a little brother of his own.
At the mention of Yves, his ears perked up again and he raised himself back up to his normal floating height and nodded. "Mm. I haven't seen him much today, I'm... kind of worried."
He looked at Oliver, unsure. "You said he was okay... is he really? You know, for some reason, he only acts this way when..." He trailed off and looked away. He didn't want to hurt Oliver's feelings. And he certainly didn't want to assume, but...
On their way out the door, Yuri stopped and stared at the back of Oliver's head.
"Are you okay?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 8:04 pm
Honestly, Oliver didn't care who's fault it had been. As far as he was concerned at this point, everything over the past twenty four hours had been his fault. He'd set up the surprise, he'd made Yves uncomfortable, he'd gone and let himself get too attached, everything about this had only him to blame. However, he didn't want to alarm Yuri or Laurel by trying to explain it, and he really didn't want to acknowledge his feelings any more than he had to right now. This wasn't the time or the place for that.
"When what...?" He asked, pausing to glance back at Yuri. Had something like this happened before? What did Yuri know that he didn't? He bit his tongue to keep from prying and turned his head away.
Then, the next question hit him like a stone.
"I'm fine, just... A little worried about Yves." He answered, hoping that this would be enough to sate the wolf. "... Laurel, why don't you peer around the corner and see if he's still lying down on the couch?" Laurel blinked and looked between Yuri and his father. He hadn't spent as long of a time with Oliver yet as Yuri had with Yves, so he couldn't discern what behavior would be odd for his guardian and what wasn't. In fact, he just assumed that this was how he was supposed to be acting. Why was Yuri so worried?
"Okay!" He chimed, hovering quickly down the hall and peeking into the next room. Hopefully Yves was still there and hadn't disappeared again, like he'd done yesterday with the phone.
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:00 pm
When you're around. Yuri closed his eyes and decided not to say it out loud. It wasn't that having Oliver around seemed to be a bad thing, but the past couple of days had been... different. And he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be in a good way or a bad way.
In the end, Yves was the adult. He had to know what he was doing. That was what he wanted to believe, anyway. He watched Laurel peek around the corner with a raised eyebrow, wondering why Oliver hadn't simply gone in there and done it himself.
Something weird was definitely going on. He followed suit behind Laurel and also peered around the corner. Peanut sniffed the air, his little nose wriggling furiously.
"He's asleep," he concluded. Handing Peanut over to Laurel, he drifted to Yves' side and gave him a gentle shake.
"Dad, wake up."
Yves stirred with a start, sitting upright with a dazed look on his face. "Wha--huh? What? Did I.. fall asleep again..." He rubbed his eyes and blinked blearily at Yuri.
Suddenly looking frantic, realization dawned on him he turned his head this way and that, searching. "Oh! Oh no... d-did they leave already?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:23 pm
Laurel looked to Peanut as though he'd been handed the holy grail and, as anyone being handed the holy grail might do, proceeded to snuggle Peanut and purr. As far as he was concerned, everything was perfect and fine and wonderful, nothing bad was happening. He promptly followed Yuri.
"No, we're still here!" He announced, beaming proudly at Yves. "Dad said you had a headache when he came to check on us, but you look super to me!"Oliver, now realizing that he was standing alone in the hallway like a moron, decided that he couldn't continue doing so and wandered out to the living room. He paused just behind Laurel, took a breath, and sighed it out with a somewhat forced chuckle.
"Ah, sorry to wake you, Yves!" He chimed, his hand latching onto his sleeve. "But, yes, uh... Laurel and I were just thinking about heading out.""Aw, really?" Laurel whined, giving Oliver a sad look. "I want to hang out with Yuri some more...""I know, Laurel, but... I think we should let Yves rest." Oliver replied, giving Yves a quick glance. "... I'm sure you'll see each other again soon.""Oh... Okay." Laurel said, frowning. He didn't understand why they had to leave, but there really wasn't a reason for him to argue. He turned and held Peanut out to Yuri.
"Bye, Yuri, Bye, Yves! I want to see you again really soon, okay?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:11 pm
Yves held a hand to his cheek and looked down at the couch. Slowly, that look shifted up to Oliver, whose eyes he didn't think he'd meet that time. He bit his lip and quickly shook his head.
Standing up, he brought his hands up, but ended with a limp gesture outward. "You.. you came all this way for my sake, at least let me pay you for the gas," he replied, weakly. He pulled out his wallet and fumbled around in it. While digging for money, a couple tickets fell out and onto the floor. Instantly his face flushed a vibrant red and he stooped down to pick them up.
Yuri, however, had beaten him to it and was now holding them in his hand with a confused look on his face. "What're these ti--" he started, but was interrupted by Yves suddenly snatching them away from him.
"N-nothing!" he yelped, and hastily stuffed them back into his wallet. Oh, god, could today get any worse? Could this week get any worse? He grabbed a few bills, then Oliver's hand, and turned it over to stuff the money into his palm. Using both hands, he closed them around Oliver's and hung his head.
"Please just take it," he whispered, feeling miserable. Yuri had a look that could only be described as utter confusion on his face as he looked between the two of them for the hundredth time. He tried to see if Laurel had any idea what was going on, but he doubted he'd find any answers from the blissfully-unaware frei.
Yves cleared his throat. "I... I'm so sorry for wasting your time again."
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:36 pm
Oliver watched Yves fuss about with a stunned look, but soon found his face stiffening into something rather serious. No, there was no way in hell that he was accepting money from Yves like this. Not in these circumstances, not with how things were. He completely ignored any curiosity toward the tickets, actively tried to pull his hand away when it was grabbed, and ultimately couldn't keep himself from grimacing.
"Yves. I came here because I care about you." He heaved, his eyes blinking away a growing mistiness. "I was worried and I certainly didn't care about the gas or the miles it would take. Offering me this, quite frankly... Makes me uncomfortable."
He pulled his hand back and quickly placed the money on the nearest surface he could find, before turning to Yves again.
"You aren't-I don't thi-Oh, just... Just call me sometime next week so the boys can get together." He stammered, motioning Laurel toward the door. "Goodbye, Yves, Goodbye, Yuri. Thank you for letting us stop by."Laurel paused, his hand hovering somewhere between his mouth and his chest, and slowly turned toward Yuri and Yves. He didn't like what had just happened, but he offered them a smile, before hovering to catch up with his father who was already half-way to the car.
"Bye-bye! See you soon!" He called, waving.
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:14 pm
Oof.
Yves recoiled. A literal fist to the stomach couldn't have hurt more. He'd done it. He'd ruined everything, for good. Now they couldn't even be friends. He opened his mouth to say something, but the hollow, horrible feeling in his gut wouldn't let him. He bit back his words and turned away from the door so they wouldn't see his face.
Yuri gave Laurel a half-hearted wave, his own expression somber and confused. He remained in the doorway, blocking Yves' view to the outside, and waited until they were pulled out of the driveway and heading down the street before going back inside.
Some moments passed in silence. Yves had his arms crossed and was still facing away from the door. Yuri went to him and gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Dad," he said, as gently as he could manage. Yves didn't respond, so he tried again. "Dad... are you... okay?"
Finally, Yves gave a soft shrug and half-turned to look at the wall.
"I'm f..." He trailed off. He stared at the wall as if it might have answers. Drawing his arms more tightly around himself, he shrugged again.
"I don't..." His voice cracked a little. "I don't know."
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