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 Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:19 pm
Who: Yves, Oliver
Where: Telephone conversation between Yves' and Oliver's homes
When: Around noon
Weather: Overcast
Note: ICly this roleplay takes place the day after When Morning Calls - November 24th, 2016 (orz).
┈━━━━━━━━━━━━┈
For the first time in a long time, Yves had slept in -- and he wasn't ill.
He hadn't gone into work, he'd turned off his alarm, and he'd just... slept in.
It was more like he'd simply stayed in bed all morning, listening to the radio with his eyes closed. He'd been up all night, unable to sleep, and now his stomach was busy doing twists and turns and doing its best to make sure he was anything but comfortable.
On his night stand, his cell phone sat there, silent. He always called Oliver by now, hours ago, even. He knew he would be waiting for his call, or maybe he wouldn't? Maybe he never wanted to see him again after what he'd done.
Yves drew his blankets close to himself and curled up on his side. He'd been such a horrible person. He'd screwed up, and Oliver would probably be right to avoid him from then on. He'd been called over to help celebrate something wonderful, and the day should have been all about Laurel and Oliver. Instead, he'd made it about himself and his problems.
His problems. He hated thinking about them. Didn't want to face them, ever.
What time was it?
Yves sat himself up, his blanket pooling around his lap. The clock on his night stand read 12:08 P.M. God, he never stayed in bed that late. It made him feel like he'd already wasted half of his day. Even though he was sure his phone hadn't gone off once, he picked it up and checked it.
No messages, no missed calls. Nothing. Yves closed his eyes and fell back onto his pillow. He held his phone above his face and swiped to unlock it.
He searched through his contacts. Click, click. Click. He brought the phone down to his ear and waited while it rang.
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:00 pm
Oliver felt as though he were reliving a nightmare.
He'd gotten up right before eight in the morning from a restless sleep, found Laurel sleeping like a log beside him again, and turned to face a phone he was already convinced wouldn't ring.
How could it ring now, after what had happened the morning before? He'd been too much, too pushy, too overbearing. He'd gone and thoroughly embarrassed the closest friend he'd had in years and ruined everything, he was sure.
Except, he still wanted it to ring. Even when Laurel shook himself awake and followed him down the stairs to make tea an hour later, he carried the phone in his robe pocket. He held it in his free hand as he combed his hair and stared at the all-too-familiar tired eyes in the mirror at ten o'clock. Like a sluggish robot, he moved through the morning with a lopsided gait and paused to let out a sigh like steam from a broken pipe.
Idly, he would wonder what Laurel was thinking of him, but dismissed the thought with each question the redhead would toss him in return. How the world around him worked was far more worrying and interesting than wondering about how his guardian felt right now. He couldn't blame him and, if he could be honest, he wished he could still have the childhood innocence that Laurel held in his eyes. But, it was far too late to be thinking about that.
And all of a sudden, it was eleven fifty-five and Oliver found himself sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. Laurel lay beside him, having resigned to a sensory overload driven nap, and the blond once again faced the phone. Why had he carried it all morning? It wasn't going to ring. Yves wasn't going to call. Why was he trying to hold onto hope here? It was over. No more friendship, no more early morning talks, no more cups of tea. He had to accept this now or he'd just be setting himself up for disappointment.
He turned the phone over in his hands, swiped it open, and navigated straight to his contacts. Yves Lecuyer, he read, and hesitated. His thumb hovered, incapable of striking what he felt would be the final blow. Never had he ever had to struggle so much over deleting a contact. It just didn't feel right. It tugged at his heart and his stomach. But so did his anxiety. How was he supposed to decide what was best? Did he give into fear because he felt like protecting himself, or did he wait to see if the clouds cleared?
Then, like a sign from above, his cellphone rang. The name he'd been thinking about deleting moments before now sat at the top of a black screen. He took a deep breath in and pressed the green icon.
"H-hello?" He answered, trying to keep himself from sounding too nervous. "Yves?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:24 pm
The ringing felt deafening in his ears, and Yves was tempted to hang up and give up, but he allowed it to ring and ring. Oliver had probably left his phone behind somewhere, maybe he was even hoping Yves wouldn't call. He was surprised when the ringing stopped short, however, and a familiar voice spoke his name.
Oliver had answered. Yves felt his breath catch in his throat; if he was being honest with himself, he thought Oliver might have chosen to ignore his call. He wouldn't have blamed him, although the thought also terrified him a little.
So, when Oliver answered, Yves sat up again and looked at his wall, unsure of what to say. He held the phone to his ear and didn't speak for a good few seconds.
Leaning over to turn the radio down, Yves let his eyes linger on the time. He turned away and leaned into his phone.
"Bonjour," he greeted, voice quiet. He brought his knees up to his chest, staring out the window. Outside, it looked cold.
"I... I kept you waiting."
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:45 pm
Silence, absolute soul-numbing silence. Oliver pressed the phone as close as he could to his ear, hoping to hear even the tiniest bit of sound, and relaxed when he heard the sound of a radio. Thank goodness. Yves was still there, just quiet. Could Oliver blame him though? He had every right to be quiet after yesterday. The professor straightened himself out.
His first instinct was to immediately say that, no, Yves hadn't kept him waiting. But that was only his politeness showing. He'd been waiting all morning and almost given up on the other man entirely. It wouldn't be right to lie.
"Y-yes, I was worried that you'd... Decided not to call." He replied, leaning to the side. "... Of course, I could have called you for a change, but I just... I didn't think it was my place given what happened."
He paused, his eyes drifting out to the front porch. An odd bit of wind rattled the trees outside. Maybe there'd be rain?
"... How are you feeling today?" He asked.
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:55 pm
Yves closed his eyes and bit his lip, a pained expression taking hold. He was still feeling the embarrassment from the day before -- how he'd overreacted had worried even himself. It didn't make any sense. He didn't know what panic attacks were supposed to feel like, but he couldn't help but wonder after yesterday.
"I'm..."
He drew in a breath, let it out. "I'm fine," he lied. Giving one more brief pause, he added, "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe... I can't believe yesterday. I've never..."
He drummed his fingers on his phone.
"I was so stupid," he suddenly blurted. "Overreacting like that, that was all... a huge misunderstanding. I just, I just couldn't calm down, I... I don't even know how it got blown up so badly. Why was it such a big deal to me? I'm such an i-idiot."
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:08 pm
Oliver leaned back against the couch and listened, intently, to every word that Yves said. However, he couldn't help but clench his fists and bite his lip. Why was Yves calling himself stupid? He wasn't stupid! He took a breath.
"Yves, you aren't stupid." He said, more sternly than he would have liked. "And I don't think, in hindsight, that you were overreacting at all. I was being far too insistent and embarrassed you. I should have stepped back and let you breathe. I'm the one who made you uncomfortable when you were a guest in my home. How on Earth could you be an idiot for reacting like you did?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. There was this... Odd feeling of protectiveness welling up inside of him. He wanted to be right there beside him, throwing his hands up and tearing down the words that Yves was using against himself. He wasn't an idiot, he was perfectly fine. Perfectly fine.
"... I sincerely apologize for how pushy I was. Really, from the bottom of my heart." He continued, tapping his foot on the floor. "I never ever meant to make you feel so uncomfortable. I hope you can forgive me..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:33 pm
"You weren't pushy!" Yves countered, feeling himself get worked up. At the same time, he was exhausted, and all he could do was deflate and flop back down against his pillow. He stared at the ceiling with a defeated sigh.
"Oliver, I... I really did act crazy yesterday. You don't have to pretend I didn't." He brought the back of his free hand up to his forehead. "You were being completely harmless. I just got embarrassed. I was so nervous already, so I..."
There he was, once again inconveniencing Oliver. Forcing him to comfort him. The only thing Yves hated more than dealing with his own problems was making trouble for others. Lately it seemed like it was all about Yves. He made a face and groaned.
"You shouldn't apologize. Normal people don't act like I did." His voice shook a little. "Sorry, Oliver, I'm just... not good at this sort of thing, and..." He trailed off, feeling the all-too-familiar sting in his eyes. Oh, god, was he really going to cry? Not on the phone, please, not on the phone.
Although he should have stopped while he was ahead, he went on, "So-sorry, Oliver, I really... I really made a mess of things. And the worst part is that all of this shouldn't even be this big of problem."
He waited, and then asked, "Why is this such a problem?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 10:30 am
Pretend? He wasn't pretending! Yves had acted like any person with anxiety would in a stressful situation. Sure, Oliver agreed that he'd had harmless intentions, but still. Even the most benign of intentions could smash relationships to bits. He understood that.
Oliver's knuckles turned white against the couch as Yves' voice shook. Oh no, was he going to cry? The professor's jaw clenched. And normal? Normal wasn't something that existed! How could Yves not see that his reaction was nothing but justified? He fussed, huffed, and shook his head.
"Okay, this might just be me here, but this isn't working." He sighed, looking outside. "A phone call isn't enough. You need someone right now, I can tell, and I want to be there for you and help you work this out. I'll be there with Laurel in an hour. Just hang tight until then, okay?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:02 pm
Yves' eyes grew wide as dinner plates, and he sat up quickly and nearly dropped his phone in the process.
"You... what?" he yelped, a little louder than he'd intended. He looked up at his bedroom door, still closed, as if it might fly open any second. He rubbed his nose on his shoulder and shook his head, even though Oliver couldn't see it.
"No, no, you don't have to, I... that's such a long drive--"
A gentle knock on the bedroom door almost sent him off his bed.
"Um... dad?" Yuri called. He stood on the other side of the door, one hand raised in a loose fist, ready to knock again. "Um, are you... are you okay? Do you need anything?"
Yves hadn't ever come out of his bedroom since he went to bed last night. Although Yuri had been very worried, he'd also sensed that Yves needed to be left alone and had given him his space. Eventually he would have gone to check on him, but his sensitive ears had alerted him to noise in the bedroom so here he was, patiently waiting outside. He scratched his ear and looked down the hallway.
"I'm fine," Yves called back, scrambling to untangle himself from his blanket. There it was again, his lie for the day. If he kept saying it, it would come true, right?
After a bit more commotion and struggling, Yves finally hopped out of bed and let out a big breath. Oh, god, he'd had Oliver on the phone the entire time. He made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a squeak and held the phone back up to his cheek.
"O-Oliver! I am so sorry, I'm.. I'm out of sorts today, but I promise I'm fine, you don't need to drive all the way..." He trailed off; even he could hear how unconvincing he sounded. It was likely useless to argue at that point, he was too tired to put up a fight, anyway. And if he were being honest with himself, he never really wanted to put up a fight in the first place.
Cradling his phone between his shoulder and cheek, he walked up to Yuri and patted his arm for him to move just a bit to the side. "I... I... guess I'll see you soon," he mumbled. He looked at Yuri, whose eyebrows had shot up, and the frei mouthed 'Who's that?' Yves rubbed his eyes and held up one finger to let him know to wait. He then began walking toward the kitchen, Yuri trailing behind him with a questioning look on his face.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:31 pm
No amount of squeaking or commotion from Yves could have stopped Oliver now. He'd made up his mind and was already in the hallway looking for his coat. He was about to pause and comment about how it wasn't really such a long drive and that it didn't matter how far he had to go because how much he cared, but the sound of Yuri on the other end made him pause. Goodness, if Yuri was concerned, then Yves must be acting quite out of character. This only fueled the blond's determination further and he nudged the phone between his shoulder and ear and sat to tie his shoes on.
"Don't you worry about distance, Yves." He muttered, grumbling as the laces of his shoes refused to cooperate with him. "I know plenty of back roads. I'll be there with you before you know i-"
A loud yawn from the couch sent a shiver up his spine. Oh, right, Laurel! The professor hurried to tie his left shoe and sprinted back into the living room.
"Come on, Laurel, time to wake up!" He exclaimed, nudging his son on the shoulder. "We're going to see Yves and Yuri today at their house. I need you to get up, though. Laurel?" The cheetah rolled onto his side, as best as a Frei could, and peeked at his guardian through heavy eyelids. Up? Yves and Yuri? What? His ears flicked and wiggled. O-okay... He supposed he could get up. He pulled himself up and hovered slightly above the couch, only to wiggle side to side like a spinning top and fall straight forward, thankfully into Oliver's waiting arms instead of the coffee table below."Christ, that was a concussion waiting to happen there..." Oliver mumbled, before blushing. Yves had probably heard that. Oops. "But we're okay, just a little sleepy! I'll see you in a bit! Bye!"
He ended the call quickly and adjusted his hold on Laurel. Poor exhausted little thing, he almost felt bad taking him out of the house, but Yves needed him. Laurel would be able to hang out with Yuri, too, and they'd gotten along well yesterday. It really wasn't that bad, he assured himself. And after, grabbing a blanket from the hall closet, Oliver placed Laurel in the back seat of his car, tossed the blanket around him, and sped off for Yves' house.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:33 pm
Oh, geez. Oh geez. He really was on his way. And it sounded like Laurel would also be coming, which he was relieved to hear. Newborn freis probably shouldn't be left to their own devices, after all. But he also felt guilty over once again putting more stress on Laurel than he deserved. Poor thing couldn't catch a break, could he?
Well, Yuri would be excited. Yves set his phone down on the counter and leaned down on his elbows, thinking. Immediately he felt the sharp pain of a headache that had seemed to blossom from nowhere. He straightened and brought a hand to his temple, wincing.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yuri asked, carefully. He hovered by Yves, the corners of his mouth pulled into a tight frown. "I can take care of myself today, you should go back to bed."
"I can't go back to bed," Yves muttered, although he looked like he sorely needed it. Maybe he was getting sick. He rubbed his temple and smiled up at Yuri. "But thank you, Yuri, I appreciate it, I do... ah, do you want to see your new friend again today?"
Yuri's ears popped up. "Laurel?" he asked, assuming it would have been the last person he'd met, thus the newest. He was pleased to be right when Yves nodded. "Yeah, he can see my room."
As Yves fussed about the kitchen for a glass of water, Yuri drifted over to Peanut's food dish and picked it up off the ground. They had to start feeding the stout little dog at certain times of the day to try to trim some of his extra fluff off. Peanut, indignant as always, yapped at him because he thought he was getting more food.
Yuri wagged a finger at him and stuck the dish in the sink. When he looked over at Yves, his guardian was leaning against the counter with a glass of water in hand, eyes closed.
"Dad?"
Yves stirred and blinked. "Sorry, sorry," he answered, yawning into his hand. "I think just need to sit down. Just for a second."
Yuri followed him as he ambled to the couch and flopped down on it. Unsure of what to do or how to help, he hovered nervously nearby and kept checking on him every few seconds. When Yves once again closed his eyes and looked like he might be on the verge of falling asleep, Yuri got an idea and flew to the bedroom and back.
With great care, he draped a blanket over his guardian. For being in his room all night and morning, Yves didn't seem like he'd gotten enough sleep. Yuri wrinkled his nose and tucked him in.
"I'll watch the house, dad," he promised. He took up post on the cushion next to him and crossed his arms.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:50 pm
An hour or so later, Oliver pulled into Yves' driveway and hopped out, only to get half way to the front door and realize that he'd left Laurel in the car. Carefully, he helped the groggy cheetah out of the back and lead him slowly to the door. Seeing how tired and perplexed he was almost seemed funny, but Oliver felt it would be cruel to laugh. He held onto Laurel's arm with one hand and knocked on the door with the other.
"I hope he's alright." He chattered, biting his nails. "Will he even answer the door?""What...? Where are we...?" Laurel muttered, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Why is there a door...?""We're at Yves and Yuri's house, I told you." Oliver answered, patting Laurel on the back. "I just knocked to let them know we're here. It's alright.""Oooh, 'kay." Laurel nodded, leaning forward and yawning again. "... Can I lay down?""Not out here, Laurel." Oliver said. "Maybe inside, we'll see how things are first."
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 5:32 pm
The knocking on the front door stirred Yuri, but it also woke Yves, who sat upright with a start. "Wha... huh?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Was I asleep? Oh... Oliver!"
He sprang to his feet, which startled Yuri and also Peanut, who had been curled up on the couch with them. Yves hurried to the door and turned around, his hand on the doorknob.
"C-can you grab Peanut, please?" he asked Yuri, who nodded and scooped their portly little dog up. Peanut was a master escape artist, it was just best to have him contained before the door to freedom was opened. When Yuri was sure he had Peanut secured, he gave Yves a thumbs up.
Yves took a quick look in the mirror on the wall, and what he saw made him scrunch his face up in disgust. His hair was lacking any semblance of a style, his eyes had bags underneath them and it definitely looked like he'd been crying. His outfit, recycled from yesterday, was rumpled. He looked like he'd literally just not slept the night before and was still trying to continue as if it were one long, 48 hour day.
Ah, well. It was too late now. Taking a deep breath, Yves turned the knob and stepped back to let the door open. He cleared his throat.
"G-good afternoon," he sheepishly greeted, his cheeks reddening. He knew he looked a fright -- instead of sleeping, he could have showered, changed... maybe applied something to his under eyes to make those shadows a little less... prominent....
He stood there and looked at Oliver's face, searching it, and then took a quick step back and moved aside for them to enter. "Sorry! Sorry, I... sorry." He looked down at the floor, mouth pressed in a firm line.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 5:58 pm
"Yves!" Oliver gasped, a look of relief washing over his features. Thank goodness, he was alright! ... Provided that he did look a little worse for wear, but as he took a minute to give the man a good once over, he found that it didn't matter to him at all. In fact, Yves as he was at the moment reminded him of how he looked at 30. Tired, sleepless, and full of anxiety.
He stepped inside as soon as Yves moved aside and gave Laurel a little nudge forward. "Come on Laurel." He said, waving him along. "I know you're sleepy, but you can't hover in the doorway forever."Laurel's eyes opened halfway at the sound of his name and blinked. Oh, no more door, he could go forward now. He followed Oliver's hand based the door and turned to smile at Yves.
"Hiiii, hello..." He mumbled, leaning toward Oliver. "We came to see you..."
He yawned, clicked his tongue, and looked around.
"Yuri?" He asked, waving his hands vaguely."Yes, ah, you two should hang out while Yves and I chat." Oliver said, his gaze darting about for a sign of the wolf Raevan. Honestly, he was far more concerned about Yves right now than anything else, but making sure Laurel would be taken car of was another high priority.
He looked to Yves with a genuine, but awkward smile. "And like I said on the phone, there's no need for you to be sorry. I'm glad to see that you're alright." He continued.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:11 pm
As soon as they entered the house, Yuri drifted over to Laurel and waved. "You look tired, too," he observed with a tilt of his head. Apparently he was the only one who got any sleep last night. He gave Oliver a stern nod and used his palm against Laurel's shoulder to direct him away from the two.
"Ah, um, it's nice to see you, Laurel," Yves said, leaning over slightly to smile at him. The poor thing looked like he'd gotten just about as much sleep as he had.
"Let's go to my room, you can rest there," Yuri told Laurel, looking over his shoulder only briefly before floating in that direction. Yves would be alright, wouldn't he? Oliver seemed like he knew what he was doing.
It was a strange feeling, thinking that there would be days where he might need to be the one to look after his guardian. He led Laurel to his bedroom with a pensive frown.
After the two of them had turned down the hallway and left, Yves hugged himself and looked up at Oliver. What now? His stomach turned and he withdrew a little.
"So..." He started, suddenly finding himself unable to look Oliver in the eye. "So, um... What did you... how have you..."
He drew his shoulders up and let them drop again with a heavy sigh.
"... I'm sorry, I-I don't know what to say now."
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