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 Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:14 pm
Priam was settling in nicely, although the circumstances weren't particularly pleasant. Yu and Sterling had done everything to make the house a home for him, and even now he felt like he could belong here.
...Even if he'd had to lock himself in the bathroom for the third time that week just to cry so he wouldn't worry them. Part of it was the dogs barking. Randomly, sometimes for short bursts, sometimes for what felt like hours. Sterling and Yu had been so patient, and Priam was at the end of his rope. He didn't know what was going on, but no matter how much money he threw at the problem, it didn't go away.
And the insurance didn't want to pay out, but they were in a losing battle. The fire was an accident, the only reason they were pushing so hard not to pay out is because of how adamant the police had been that Yu was somehow responsible, but these were just delays and inconveniences, not real obstacles.
He hadn't exactly figured out what was going to happen once he got the payout, but he had been encouraged to stay, so it was just a matter of 'what comes next' after that happened.
...But, he lived here, now. Permanently, it seemed.
And that meant he could get the mail without it being intrusive.
It was the usual--coupons, bills, promotions.
And a white envelope, with no return address and no stamp, with only his and Sterling's name written on it.
He didn't immediately recognize it as Yu's, or Ilya's even--not that he could place it--and while he figured he should have waited until Sterling was by his side to open it, he couldn't help it. His name was on it. He tore the seam carefully, not wanting to damage it, and pulled out the papers as he made his way into the house.
By the time he had made it to the living room he had slowed; a frown was heavy on his face and his brows knit. He had seen words but not understood them. They were letters on the page but he couldn't wrap his head around what they meant.
He flipped through the pages, darting around without any real comprehension to what he was reading.
Yu Shin'nen. Child Welfare. Juvenile Record. Criminal Activity. Theft. Assault. Foster Care. Vagrancy. Breaking and Entering.
The words blended together, and the meaning was lost on him.
"Sterling?" he called uncertainly into the house; his voice didn't sound like his own, and even to him it sounded distant and dazed. "...Can you come here? I need you to look at something, I..."
Were those even real words? Was this English?
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:37 pm
Sterling had been baking, it was almost Christmas after all, and the new oven was set to be delivered tomorrow...and he wanted Yu to be the first one to use it, since it was a gift for him. He had on a dark green apron with little threads of sparkling silver thread woven through it and a cheerful Christmas tree on the front, and it was absolutely covered in flour. But, at least there were two dozen chocolate chip cookies, and two dozen sugar cookies cooling on racks.
It was progress.
The gingerbread dough was resting, and he was thinking of trying to make it into shapes so that they could make a gingerbread house tonight...it would be hard but...it sounded fun.
He had a kit hidden under his bed for when it obviously didn’t work, but still. He was going to try to make it work.
Wiping his hands on his apron he walked over to Priam and tilted his head, a small plate with a warm chocolate chip cookie, and an almost cooled sprinkle covered sugar cookie in his hand, being held out as an offering. “What’s up buttercup?” His voice was light, happier than it had been in a few days. A few weeks, honestly.
Baking always did calm him down...and the idea of Yu’s gift coming in...well.
He was so excited to see the male’s face light up.
Sterling hesitated after a moment. “...You okay? What’s that?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:31 pm
The cheer in Sterling's voice made Priam's heart sink and he wished he'd had anything else to show than this. It didn't look like anything good--even if he couldn't quite process what it was.
"...I don't know," he confessed, and folded the paper just slightly. "It's probably nothing." He wanted to hide it, to throw it away and forget about it, no matter how much his curiosity demanded an answer.
...But it had his name, and Sterling's on it.
"It was a letter. There's no postmark or return address. It's just...strange. It's got Yu's name on it, but I--I really can't tell what it's supposed to be. Or why. I don't like it."
He hesitated; it was a piece of paper but handing it over felt like moving a concrete block. "...Did you ask for this?"
...Had Sterling hired a private investigator? Had he felt like he needed to? It was invasive; Priam felt squeamish even with only the quick glance he'd given it.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:51 pm
Sterling took the paper with sudden trepidation and let his eyes scan over the words. Once. Twice.
After a moment, he took a seat on the edge of the coffee table, his brows knitting together, all traces of his good mood gone. “...Why would I ask for something like this? I...I don’t give a damn about what happened in his past...that’s his business I…” He hesitated and looked almost hurt, and definitely a little confused.
“Not...not that I don’t give a damn. I care that he had a rough upbringing, I knew that much but I...I don’t care about any of this...why...why would you think I’d ask for something like this?”
The accusation made him feel rather...rather hurt. Sterling gave Priam a look, and shook his head. “...I...I don’t understand. How would someone even get these things...I…”
His hand twitched slightly. “...I don’t understand.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:37 am
"I--I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply--I just--I don't know what this is doing here. I didn't think things like this just showed up." He shifted positions and sat down next to him; there was apology and guilt in his voice; he was quick to take blame and apologize for even a perceived slight, now more so because he was actually worried about having hurt or offended Sterling--and because he didn't know what was going on with that paper.
"What I mean is, I didn't ask for it either. And if you didn't, and I didn't, I doubt Yu did." Why would he? Yu didn't like talking about his past, and if he were going to, he wouldn't want some black and white paper listing crimes and faults and accusations. If Yu was going to tell them, he'd do it in his own way, and they'd get the full story.
His story. Which, Priam considered, was the only one that mattered when you were handed a sheet of paper listing all your dark, personal secrets.
He was skimming for dates but everything he could find seemed so long ago. "This should be private information. There's no way he wasn't a minor during some of these, you two are so young." Some of it looked like he must have been in foster care. "Would Ilya have done this?" he asked, and there was a cold dread, just because he hadn't realized his paranoia was so ready to accuse someone else.
"They've been at odds recently. But I didn't think whatever they had going on was this bad? This is intrusive. This is cruel. None of this matters to me," he insisted.
Yu had never hurt him. Had never stolen from him. Had never made him uncomfortable, even. Yu had been a bit rough around the edges, but how could Priam blame him after what he'd grown up with? And now that they were past that, all he saw was how good Yu could be, how much he thrived when he had the chance.
How strong he was, when faced with adversity.
Yu had free access to his house whenever he wanted, and he had always brought Priam whatever he asked for. He'd fed him. He'd shared this house with him. He'd soothed him when he was upset, he'd gone out of his way to help with the dogs. He'd given Priam his knife to make sure he was safe. He'd stayed by his bed when he was in the hospital. He'd worried and fussed in a way that was so foreign to Priam that as soon as love was on the table, Priam had fallen for him as much as Sterling. That was the Yu Priam knew. That was the only one that mattered.
There would be reasons, he was sure of it. Yu wasn't greedy. He wouldn't take more than what he needed, and even now he seemed reluctant to accept what was given to him.
Yu didn't go out and pick fights for fun. He wanted to protect people who he cared about. People who probably needed it. Probably himself.
An anxiousness bubbled in the pit of his stomach, and there was a morbid curiosity to know what the paper said, to know all that Yu wouldn't say, because some part of Priam wanted to help him know that he was worth being loved and cared for. But there was the part of him that knew this wasn't how he wanted to find out. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:05 pm
Sterling was quiet, still letting his eyes flicker over the paper, shaking his head slowly. “I...no, I...I know you weren’t saying this is my fault...but...you think Ilya would have…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hesitated, before marching to the window and peering out. No, this was better. If Ilya had done it. He wanted to see his guilty face. Wanted to be able to just…rage at him if that was what it took.
Like hell was he going to allow his Christmas to be messed up over some stupid...useless feud.
“Priam. Come on. We’re going over there. I want to ask him in person. I...I want to break his perfect nose if I find out that this was from him…” He didn’t...didn’t want to think that Ilya would have done this. Dug something like this up...tried to turn them against Yu? Was that what this was for? Because it damn well wasn’t going to change Sterling’s opinion.
He made his way to the front door, not even bothering to go for his coat, single mindedly walking to Ilya’s house, for a moment not even caring if Priam was following.
When he knocked on the door, it was more forceful than he had ever done prior. “Ilya? If you’re home. We need to talk.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:14 pm
The house was still for a moment, and in that time Priam hurried after Sterling, Ilya managed to slowly, confusedly, open the door.
"Sterling," he greeted uncertainly, glancing at Priam over his shoulder. Priam had grabbed his jacket--and Sterling's, and held it close to his chest. "Priam," Ilya added, as he finished pulling on his own nicely tailored coat; it was obvious that he was getting ready to step out.
There was confusion on his face, and a bit of wariness; the banging was unusual enough to concern him.
Priam did not speak; he was there for immediate answers, and to make sure that he didn't have to deal with the police harassing Sterling too. Gently, he held the coat, offering it silently if Sterling needed it.
"...What can I do for you two? ...I'm leaving for work soon, but I can take a few minutes for you. Is everything okay?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:23 pm
“No it...it really isn’t all right. You…” Sterling struggled to draw in a breath, shaking his head at the jacket. “I’m okay Priam..I…”
Finally he held the paper to Ilya, his brows furrowed, a very lost expression on his face. “...you didn’t do this, did you? I...don’t want to think you did...but you’re the only person I know who would have access to any kind of records like this...and I know you and...ah, Yu. Have been having a rough go of things lately, which I don’t understand, but I’m sorry for all he’s done...and I don’t understand why it went so bad, I thought we were all going...going to be friends…”
He wanted them to be friends. Ilya was still important to him. Was still one of his dear friends. “...If...it was you. Why didn’t you just talk to me first instead of being all cryptic...but. Normally you would! Which is why…”
Sterling’s lip trembled. “...I’m not going to let stupid sh...stupid stuff like this stop my feelings for Yu at all, just so you’re aware…”
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:29 pm
Ilya was quiet; a shadow crossed his expression, because this was just another fun thing to be accused of. He took the paper quietly, eager and dreading to know what text could have immediately made Sterling think that he might have something to do with it.
You didn't come barging to someone's door and hammer on it if you thought they were innocent.
He hadn't told Sterling anything about his issues with Yu. He had been civil. He had politely side stepped him at every opportunity because, for all that it was worth, he didn't want to lose Sterling. And maybe, just maybe, there was a part of him that wondered if Yu was innocent--or just deranged, and very clever.
"...I haven't done anything," he said, with no passion in his voice. It was easier to shut out emotions than it was to let himself get worked up. It was better in the long run, because it was hard enough that Yu could accuse him of doing things, but it was harder when it was Sterling--who said he didn't want to think that Ilya did it.
Not that he didn't think he did.
He had almost been dreading having to go to work today. It was cold and miserable outside, but now he was glad he had a good reason for why he needed to leave. Maybe he could find a reason not to come home tonight, too.
"...These shouldn't exist," he said, glancing at the pages and flipping through them. "...Files are almost exclusively digital. There's no reason to print something like this out otherwise. These records, especially."
He was looking at the dates, frowning. "...Even I don't see these, not really. You almost always have to have a warrant for something like this. If they're real. But these..."
He looked at a few more things.
"...Look like they've been cropped. There's not enough information here for this to be a full report." He was holding each page, skimming it--not quite for content, but looking for key phrases or parts of information he knew should have been included. There was enough missing that he figured this couldn't have been an officially obtained file--and, even if it was, this wasn't the full version."...I don't know how you got this," he held it out, offering it back, "But I wouldn't take this at face value. It looks like someone put a lot of effort into printing you out something with only the parts they wanted to see."
Because he felt the need to reiterate, "It wasn't me. I don't know who it was, or why."
He reached for the hand sanitizer he kept by his door and squirted some on his hands, looking between the two of them as he worked it into his skin. His hands were red, like maybe he'd been doing this often of late.
"If you're worried, I'd ask Yu. But I wouldn't trust what those papers say. It's missing report numbers, so I know that if that has been taken out, it's just as likely more has been taken out. If you really want to check for criminal charges, some of those would be public knowledge, you might be able to check the Destiny City database online. You can pay for a background check too, if you really wanted. But for these, there aren't case reporters listed, and even basic details and general information is missing. This is a broken report."
...He didn't know who would do that to them, or what enemies Yu had made, but a mixture of cold rage and disappointment that festered in the pit of his stomach, because of course it would just be easy to blame him. His face remained hardened, so as not to let his resolve waver in front of them.
"I'm sorry," left his mouth before he even knew if it was a good idea or not. He was sorry for the grief and trouble they were feeling; he could see how worried both Priam and Sterling looked. "Yu mentioned some strange things were happening. I don't know if this is related, but someone's gone out of their way to paint a very specific picture with those documents. All things considered, if you don't know where the information is coming from, don't trust what it says."
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:44 pm
He watched Ilya for any signs that he might be lying, and when none presented themselves, the tension began to slowly drain from Sterling’s shoulders and he suddenly looked…tired. “I...I didn’t want to think that it was you, Ilya. I’ve never known you to be petty. Not like this...I...like I said...you’re the only one that I could think of...that knows the three of us…”
He rubbed his face and hesitated, shivering suddenly.
It was cold. How had he not bothered to notice that…?
“...Ilya, I’m so sorry for accusing you...I...may...may I have a hug, I’m…”
Tired. So very, very tired.
“...Everything has just been piling up and...I...I’m about…” At his limit. Perhaps even past it. “I’ll talk to Yu about things tonight...thank you. Thank you for letting us know, and...I’m sorry. Seriously...I just...whoever did this...really...made me angry.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:05 pm
Ilya did not like physical contact, especially when he was feeling disgusted at the idea that one of the few people he had been open and honest with could have marched over here so furious and even considered him such a menace, but Sterling was upset, and clearly hurting. He opened the door a little more and carefully embraced him, making sure Priam was aware that Sterling had asked; he wasn't just trying to sweep him off his feet.
Ilya hadn't spoken to Priam or Yu since he'd caught their tender moment and thought Yu was cheating on Sterling.
The hug was gentle, and he didn't draw away first. He wanted to make sure Sterling could get all he needed out of it. "Contrary to popular belief, I still don't want to break you three up. You need to take a break, Sterling. If you push yourself so hard you're going to have a melt down." He spoke gently, arm loosely wrapped around him as he rubbed his back. "You should be angry at whoever did this, but I'd guess that the intention was to deliberately mislead you. It's either someone who hates you--or him, or someone who gets something out of you two fighting. It'll be fine. Don't doubt your heart. If 'stupid stuff' like what they've got printed on those papers aren't going to stop your feelings for Yu, you've got nothing to worry about. Priam's got your coat, put it on and go home. It's too cold for either of you to be running around while emotionally compromised. You can call or text me if anything happens. I've got to run out and see a family, but if you need something, I'll come back immediately."
...But, because Priam was in earshot, he added, "And that's not me flirting with you. That's me trying to be a good friend, because I'm worried about you. All three of you."
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 5:21 pm
Sterling nodded slowly and sighed softly, relaxing into the hug. “I am angry at whoever decided that this was a good idea. It...It isn’t fair.” He was glad though. So very glad that it wasn’t Ilya…
“Have...have a good day at work...I...I’m sorry for accusing you, I…” He drew away and rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. Come see us after work? Or...I can come over tomorrow, maybe. We...can see if we can’t figure out what’s going on? Especially when Yu comes home. We’ll figure out who’s being such a...such an…” Sterling hesitated. “...Such an a**. This is utterly and completely unacceptable...and I...won’t allow it to go on. Nobody hurts someone that I care about.”
Finally he reached out for the coat that Priam held, beginning to shiver.
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 5:29 pm
Ilya could feel Sterling relaxing and while it did relax him a bit, he was high strung enough that it was difficult for him to find much peace in the situation.
"Text me and we can figure it out, Sterling. It's okay. Go home before you catch a cold, you'll be miserable if you don't get to enjoy Christmas because you're laid up in bed. If you're going to go running out and investigate, at least dress yourself properly."
He reached a hand out to rest on his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
"Don't do anything dangerous, either. I'm sorry you've got this going on. I'll text you when I get home, keep me updated."
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:31 am
“I’ll text you, yeah...it...it’s not your fault, Ilya...I’m glad that you had nothing to do with it...though,” He gave a rueful smile and shivered again. “...It would have been easy if it had been you and you could have just, you know. Said you were sorry...I hate not knowing things.”
Sterling managed a small laugh and rubbed his eyes, nodding. “Have a good day at work. Thank you...I won’t do anything dangerous. I’m not the type to just...do the danger…”
With a sigh, he turned away and began walking towards his house, head bent in some frustration. If it wasn’t Ilya...someone was obviously trying to make Yu look bad...and Sterling had never wanted to punch someone so badly in his life...but.
Now he had promised not to do anything dangerous, so all that could be done was to wait for Yu to come home so that they could make a plan together.
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