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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:05 pm
For once in his life, or at least since starting this job, Lukas took a day off. Hours and hours spend scrolling through a certain prickly man's old social media accounts like a freaking creeper was surprisingly exhausting, and the sun was already high up in the sky before his eyes finally closed. At least he managed to send the boss a text message first that he'd 'not be in' today. And by not in, it simply meant that there would be no repairs done. Last he checked, he only really needed to go rake through the path ways anyway. The folks here could last one day with a few extra leaves crunching under their feet. But even then, when he did try to sleep, he was far too consumed by thoughts on Wyatt. What he had been through, the s**t his ex-husband did to him, his own self loathing... Last night truly felt like he had learned far more than anyone should have about a stranger. Then again, Wyatt wasn't a stranger now, was he? They had known each other for some time... Hell, they nearly got intimate last night! None of it felt fair. What happened to the rose-eyed man, how much he had suffered... And every time Lukas closed his eyes, all he could see is the videos of him blaming himself for that shitty ex of his, and then the article about the accident. It kept replaying in his head, over and over and over again, until he simply passed out, face down on his pillow.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:34 pm
Sleep only lasted a few hours for Wyatt after Lukas left. When he did wake up, it was with a colossal headache not too unlike a mild hangover. He sat up and held his pounding head for a moment, before foggy memories of what had happened that night hit and he flopped back on to the bed with a groan.
He hadn't been fully there mentally at the time, but had become conscious enough to remember some things. And boy, was he feeling a lot of things about that - embarrassment, regret, anger, frustration.. There were some revelations to come to upon further examination as well but well....
He looked over at his bedside clock as saw that it was only a little after 3AM. A truly ungodly hour, although not one he wasn't somewhat familiar with back in his war 'glory' days. Now he tried to avoid it if he could. Now, head pounding and thoughts scattered, he knew there was no falling back to sleep. He needed to busy himself with something physically as he worked through his thoughts.
So, he got up, put on some pants and started baking. He started with making various cookie dough - chocolate chip, peanutbutter, snickerdoodle, and oatmeal pecan. After that he laid out plastic wrap, put parchment paper on top of that, and scooped the dough on to it, before rolling the dough up in it all cylinder like and stuffing it in the fridge. He did that for each kind. He'd bake it later.
Finally, and with a sigh....somewhere along the way he had decided that he'd make some cupcakes. Something special. An apology. He'd been an a**, and then had a total freakout on a particular someone. What he found hard to put in to words, he could hopefully make up for with food.
Everyone at the park really enjoyed his cherry kool-aid cake. Everyone except aforementioned person, who had not yet had the opportunity to try it. Everyone was quick to request it though for every and any occasion, and Wyatt had to remind them that it was only so good because the didn't get it often, and if he made it every time, they'd quickly tire of it.
Instead of making a cake, however, he was going to make cupcakes, and go all out on the topping. While the cupcakes baked Wyatt created a chocolate ganache and fluffy whipped icing, chopped some pecans, and made sure he had enough maraschino cherries. All things topped the cupcakes in due time.
Finding the cupcake container to hold the six he'd decorated he paused and gave them a look before putting on the lid which fit over them without smushing them. He looked at the clock again - almost 6AM..... Wyatt found himself hesitating. Looking for a reason to put this off. Luckily he had that cookie dough! He would get two trays in the oven before he left for the watchtower.
With that done, he all too soon found himself at the steps of the watchtower. One hand on the railing, and another holding the cupcakes, he took a deep breath, and ascended.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 10:07 am
Only an hour or two had passed when the sound of his watch tower's steps creaking echoed through the small space. It instantly woke him up, ears far too trained to be alert in a moment's notice thanks to the chaotic nature of park life at times. Who knew what sort of blockage or stoppage for failure they were going to come up and request fixing? But maybe, just *maybe*, they would go away if he just ignored them. Yet the creaking never stopped. It was slow going too, and perhaps that made it all the more worse. Lukas groaned loudly into his pillow after the 12th creaking and peeled himself up from the bed. Even if he had been irritated by it all, given how slow this person was going, maybe it was Granny Sam coming to talk to him. If he ignored her, well, he'd fell like even more s**t than he already did. Before the 14th step, he was at the door, opening it to greet whoever it was with a clearly exhausted smile. "Good Mor--- Wyatt? What are you doing up here?! Aren't you anti-stairs?!" Worry easily beat out tiredness, and he made to go help the man up, though immediately paused, memories of last night, plus threats of beatings with canes coming back. Add that to the delicate information he had learned about before, Wyatt seemed to be far more frail in his eyes. ".... Do you want me to help?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:36 pm
One thing came to mind halfway up the winding set of stairs - Lukas couldn't have chosen a place any further away from him, and still be on the property, if he tried. Not only was the tower on the exact opposite corner of the camp, but the height was just insult to injury. He was halfway up the last set of stairs when the man in question opened the door. Well. He realized now he hadn't really planned for the actual interaction part of this. Lukas looked tired, but wasn't this guy used to making up early? Well, maybe he'd already completed some morning tasks and was just getting a few extra hours of sleep in. Something like that. Maybe. He sure had no clue. He really didn't know a whole lot about the guy who now knew far more about him than he knew about. "Uh.... No, no help but yeah. Very anti-stairs. But..." Wyatt said somewhat awkwardly as he made is way up the last few steps, "I may have been a bit of an a** and said and did some things I shouldn't, so~" He held out the container of cupcakes. "And if that," a short nod towards the cupcakes, "doesn't do it, I've got cookies in the oven now so.... Yeah," an awkward shrug followed. Ummm.... "And uh, don't tell anyone about those," again, a motion towards the cupcakes, "or they'll be begging more than they do already. I might have created a community monster with that 'recipe.'" No doubt the word of the infamous cake had reached his ears. All in all Wyatt was trying to act nonchalant, but this was also pretty awkward. Like, lame highschool freshmen boy asking the cute, popular, sophomore girl to homecoming awkward.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:48 pm
Lukas squinted, juuuuust a bit at Wyatt's jumble of words. Yeah, he got it, in some way, but it didn't explain anything. And he was way too tired to simply play coy with it all either. "Thanks." He took the container, a bit more curt than he meant to be, before ducking back inside for a brief moment to put them down. In the next, he was back out again, sitting down at the top of the stairs while Wyatt stood by. "Bit of an a**, a bit of a traumatized, really worrying, a**, you know, it happens. But you do know we need to talk, right? You said some things... Some strange things. So... I went digging. I ain't even gonna lie about it. I was curious, because why would you, this tough lookin' angry man who threatens to beat people with canes for helpin' out would suddenly do a 180 and... All that?" In his tiredness, his southern drawl seemed to take over, and made it clear that he often did his best to hide it. "... But I'm guessin' this ain't the time for it, is it? You came prepared with an excuse to leave right away, with yer cookies in the oven. Don't they take like, 10 maybe 15 minutes to bake? Unless yer willin' to talk if I follow you back. You already seem like yer eager to go." ... Yup, his temper was short thanks to that lack of sleep, but atleast it was easier to be honest about things.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 1:01 pm
Look, no matter how minor the relation 'we need to talk' would never not be anxiety-inducing. Especially given Lukas' current mood. And to an already on-edge Wyatt, well....He kinda wondered if taking a dive off the side of the stairs would kill him, or just further cripple him.... Especially when he mentioned doing some digging. It wasn't like Wyatt had made any effort to hid his abandoned social medias but like..... Who would really care to dig that up, had been his previous thoughts on the matter. “Bake low and slow,” Wyatt muttered quietly, no eye contact, glance still cast to the railing. "When you bake at a lower temperature, you will get that perfect cookie with a soft center and crisp exterior......." The mostly unnecessary explanation was probably some form of distancing while deflecting the accusation.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 1:18 pm
"Lower temperature for longer then... Fine, so you have time to come in then. Are you going to or not?" Lukas' gaze didn't get any more relaxed or gentle. But he did stand up, and he did hold the door open for Wyatt to get in. "Hurry up, before you let the mosquitoes in."
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 1:30 pm
Wyatt exuded all the caution of a house cat with a distrust of strangers with the given situation, before wordlessly slipping past Lukas and through the opened door. Well. No yeet now. He did glance around a bit, doing his best to be discreet about it, but noted that the place....didn't seem suited to long-term living. Seeing some light through the boards in the wall.... The place wasn't even insulated. Definitely not winter-livable. Wyatt had to bite his lip to keep from going mom-mode and immediately turning the incoming conversation to the unfit state of this living space and what was going to happen to fix it, and now.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:08 pm
Good. Wyatt came in. While any other day, Lukas would simply pick him up and carry him in, he knew he just would let him go today. Once he was in, Lukas closed the door behind him, and gave a slight gesture to the bed, the only real place to sit down that was any comfortable. To the left was a long desk, with paper work, a small hot plate, and an electric kettle, but not much else. It was pretty clear that though Lukas lived here, he hadn't really given it much thought. But there was enough thought that there was a container of potable water next to the kettle, and he poured some in before switching it on. A cup of coffee would be do his brain good. While it boiled, he flopped down on the hard, wooden chair that faced the bed, and simply stared at Wyatt. Now that the man was before him... It was definitely harder to clear his foggy mind enough to ask questions. He'd start simple. "Tell me, and keep it honest, What do you remember from last night?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:22 pm
Holding to that awkward-casual demeanor he'd had earlier, Wyatt took a seat. Then a breath as the interrogation began. And just like Lukas, he'd get right to the point. "Things I'm not telling my therapist because you don't mention hallucinations without coming out with medication...." He did know that if he hadn't made the mistake of trying so hard to dissociate, he would have been able to hold it together and done of that mess would have happened.... But it did show him that there was no lingering desire to be wrapped up with that person again. If anything, being in that position again, in an unsteady, uncertain relationship, even if it was just in a split-second hallucination, was terrifying. His mind had blanked out a while before that, then there was that sudden, terrifying sight burned in to his memory, then darkness again as he had gone in to a fit that he didn't remember, though his body had clearly felt the remnants of shortly after. It was a different brand of tense.
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:35 pm
"I got that much, yeah. Something about a Toren, and from what I've learned, a pretty shitty Ex." Lukas replied flatly, turning behind him to poke at a few cups. One of them had to be clean... "You can't be living up here with hallucinations that no one knows about. What if something happens to you like last night, and I'm not around? What if it turns out you're violent and little Mr. Higgins comes by and becomes your target?" He paused, satisfied with the cleanliness of the mug in his hands, and stood up again to wait by the kettle. "You're makin' me worry. Now, I don't mind worryin', but if it's something bigger than me, something I can't help with, then what am I supposed to do? Just keep watchin' you probably go off the deep end? I know I shouldn't be makin' this about me, but damn, Wyatt, what am I supposed to do?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:50 pm
There may have been an eye-twitch at the name spoken out loud. Definitely a sobering little fire starter. At least any of his more violent tendencies had an outlet in the form of beating the s**t out of Chaos-aligned space-terrorists. For anything else well, he at least did have a therapist. Even if there was only so much one could say to someone presumably not also part of the war. And if they happened to be, not knowing which side. Wyatt just gave a bit of a dismissive huff of sorts and a shrug, "I've gotten help. Have help. Being considerate of timezones my therapist will be getting a call, so I'm getting help. I might be a mess, but at least I've got all that mess in trash bags, and those trash bags are in a neat little row. So..." Uh, where to take this metaphor... "I'm working on throwing all that out one bag at a time."
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:01 pm
Lukas listened as best he could, eyes darting ever now and then towards the kettle and waiting for the very moment he'd be able to grab it. "Gettin' help, huh? So you are gonna be tellin' them about this episode you had last night?" He tried to make it a little less biting and taunting, actual concern coming through from his tired words. "So then... After you call them, then what? You got all yer bags leaned up but... You know cleanin' and fixin' things is one of my specialties... I wanna help, ifin' yer willin' to let me." The pot whistled and he picked it up, dumping the water into his half-cleaned cup, and mixed in a bit more generic, powdery, coffee goodness into it. Alarms were going off in his head. Hug the man, hold him, tell him how much you care and want to help. But... No. Not right now. Not if it was going to trigger something else. "I wanna be clear about what this is goin' on between us. I like you, plain and simple. But if yer ain't ready to do something with me, consider me, like me or somethin' then I ain't gonna push. Not right now anyway. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna stop bein' as good to you as I can I just... I don't wanna give you a hard time if yer head is already tangled and jumbled up enough."
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:18 pm
"Well, that's kind of the point of making an appointment. A nice long-distance video call session, just to tell them about my newfound phobia of being back in that situation," no mention of hallucinations or anything...unnecessary. Then came an...unexpected admission. And Wyatt had to wonder what he had ever said and done to make Lukas like like him. "Uhhh....." Quick, find a distancing topic! "You know, while I do find taking care of others a good way to distract myself from taking care of me, This place needs you healthy, and this tower doesn't exactly look like it's gonna be the healthiest place to spend the winter. And, you know, seeing as I do believe I am at fault for that, if you would like some help fixing up the place~" ugh, stairs, "I do have a truck. It's kiiiinda meant to haul things so like...picking up things to fix this place up - you can borrow it or like... I dunno, find a way to make it where I don't have to climb all those steps all the time and I'll lend a hand." Deep breath. "I know your little rules said no power tools for working around the camp, but I don't believe helping with your living space necessarily counts. If so, I'll content myself with a good old fashion hammer." That was the only banging or nailing that would be happening around here any time soon.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:27 am
"I asked that because you are the one who said you don't tell yer therapist about the hallucinations. Which I assume you probably won't now either, and that don't make me feel none better about it all. I don't think I can trust you to do the right thing, but then again, it ain't none of my business, now is it?" Lukas switched back to being cold. he couldn't help it, it was so much easier to just not be nosy, and not have someone forcefully push him away. By now he was absently stirring a few spoonfuls of generic, instant stuff into that big mug of his. "Don't change the subject!" He snapped real quick, though his voice remained an even volume. He wasn't a yeller, and never would be. If anything, he looked more defeated than when this all started. "Yer just brushin' me off. Ignorin' what I said, what happened with us last night. If yer fit to doin' that and ignoring everything, then you best be goin'. I'm not gonna just sit here and act like nothin happened at all, and if you wanna act like that, then get. The door's right there."
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