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 Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 7:05 pm
Talia was nothing if not stubborn, and she had made herself a fine little nest on the floor in Zac’s room, bundling a quilt she had bought at Target and a bunch of pillows and a few fantastic stuffed animals called Squishmallows. It was cozy, and mostly comfortable…and she had swiped one of Zac’s pillows…since it had been hers before. Maybe. And if not, it was just a really nice pillow, and she deserved it, thank you very much.
So far as she could tell, however. Zac hadn’t come back to his room, so her fantastic nest making was rather useless, save for the fact that he could come back. So he was just being stubborn, obviously.
He seemed to enjoy not being around her, and. That was fine. It began to piss her off a little, but…she couldn’t do anything about it.
Something woke her up in the hour before dawn, and after rolling around for what felt like six hours, Talia finally just said to hell with it and got up, stretching and sighing when her back popped. The bad part about the nest was the fact she was always curled up into a small ball to keep herself on the comfy part.
A quick glance at her phone showed that it was just past six in the morning…and that was disgusting…but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about being in Evan’s way in the kitchen…maybe she could make everyone some cinnamon rolls for breakfast…
Quietly, Talia padded through the house and paused when she saw Zac on the couch, her muscles tightening when she saw him. Kind of a jerk move, taking the couch when his bed was right there for him to use…but. Whatever.
She moved easily through the kitchen, getting her dough prepared and setting it aside to rest as she made herself a cup of hot cocoa, and then made a second one.
With a sigh, she set both mugs on the coffee table and made her way back to Zac’s room, pulling off her unicorn covered comforter and draping it around Zac’s sleeping frame.
Just because he was a jerk didn’t mean he should be cold.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 8:22 pm
He’d come in late last night, which wasn’t uncommon. The major difference was that he didn’t drag himself to his bedroom and lock himself away there like he used to do before Talia moved in. He wasn’t avoiding her, he’d just become something of a recluse in the past few months, and he had a lot of habits that weren’t breaking easy.
He’d grabbed leftovers from the fridge and picked at them before he sat down in front of the television. It was on low volume, he wasn’t really watching it. He just needed something to distract himself with for a few moments before sleep claimed him.
He kept himself near exhaustion, not deliberately but just because he couldn’t seem to figure out how to relax anymore. His body needed time to heal. He was trying to give it some.
Usually he didn’t sleep so deeply, but maybe it was the relief of knowing Lysithea wasn’t under the Negaverse’s spell anymore that gave him peace of mind enough to do so.
He felt the blanket lay over him and cracked an eye.
Oh, Talia. She wasn’t trying to strangle him in his sleep?
“...What time is it?” he asked quietly, trying very hard not to either stretch and get up or just sink back into the couch and go back to sleep.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 8:09 am
“Last time I looked at the clock it was a little after six, so I’m going to assume it’s about six thirtyish right now. I brought hot chocolate for you, if you want some. And I’m making cinnamon rolls. The dough is rising right now so. I figured I’d sit down while it did. And you looked cold.”
Talia pushed the second cup of cocoa towards Zac and then sat back in her chair, sipping from her own mug.
“Why do you keep taking the couch? You know I leave your bed open. It’s…kind of silly for both of us to not use it. Those sheets are too nice to be abandoned like this.”
Her eyes moved towards the television, watching as an infomercial played. Some sort of magical copper pans, completely non stick and perfectly durable. The demonstrations were almost soothing to watch.
“...Were the sheets my indulgence, or were they yours? One of us clearly had good taste.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:10 pm
He accepted the mug without protest or complaint despite the fact that coffee seemed more up his alley right now than hot chocolate. But, it was warm, and he wasn’t going to turn it away just because he didn’t have a sweet tooth. Cinnamon rolls at least explained the sweet smell in the air, and sweet tooth or not his mouth was watering a bit.
“Thanks,” he said, for the drink and the blanket. He held the warm mug between his hands and let it ease away the chill that had crept through him.
“Mine, but you enjoyed them. Didn’t take long to convince you they were worth the price.” He glanced towards the room, as if it had all the answers she was seeking. It didn’t, but there was a bit of reassurance to see that everyone else still seemed to be asleep. He turned his attention back to Talia.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep out here. Fell asleep in the car last night, too. I’ve just been tired. I told you to take the bed, are you being stubborn and still trying to sleep on the floor?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:15 pm
“No, I’m sleeping in my nest thank you very much.” Talia huffed, but took a sip of her drink to hide a smile. “You’d get better sleep in your bed, you know. I’m not going to move from my nest, so you might as well. If you don’t, we’ll just both get lousy rest. And I’m sure that your sheets miss you.”
Her eyes flickered to him, and then back towards the television, sipping her drink and giving a sigh. “You’ll end up getting sick if you don’t get a good night’s sleep. You should come home more often and eat more. You kind of look like a zombie, to be perfectly blunt and honest. Or a vampire.”
Pausing, she turned her full attention to him and frowned slightly. “...Unless you are a vampire and that’s why you’re always out at night and who knows where during the day. Is there a coffin under your mattress? Is that your big secret, Zac?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 5:10 pm
Zac laughed softly, a little dryly. “Something like that.”
This time, he sipped the hot chocolate and was surprised to find that it tasted good.
…Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had hot chocolate. Had he just told himself he didn’t like it? He couldn’t remember anymore.
“I’ve been working. Someone in this house has to pay the bills.”
Not exactly the truth, but not really a lie. He had been working. At first, to find her. And then yeah, also to pay the bills. He wasn’t going to ask Tobias for help covering things.
Truthfully, he felt like he’d been sick for a while. A different kind of sick than just physical ailments, but those too. His body was tired. His will was strong, but now that he’d accomplished his goal, some of his drive had burned out. He didn’t know how to rest anymore, and he didn’t have anything to keep him going.
Finding her had been the goal, and saving her, and now–what was left? She was here, now. She was still figuring things out but he didn’t know how much she needed him.
“I’ve been keeping a bad schedule lately. It’s going to take me a little time to adjust to something new. I didn’t realize it was bothering you so much. I thought you’d be happier with me not four feet away from you while you slept.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 5:40 pm
“Well, I can’t have you paying for everything. I’ll get a job too. And doesn’t the food truck bring in money? Are we really hurting so badly?”
She was watching him now, frowning and rather curious. “Because we seem like we’re doing pretty all right…But of course it’s bothering me. I don’t mind sleeping in my nest, but it’s annoying that the bed is right there and you’re not in it, and I could use it, but then what if you wanted it, and I’d be putting you out? I don’t think you’d hurt me. And I know for a fact the moment you’re on that bed, you can’t help but fall asleep, so my virtue and whatever will be totally safe.”
For a moment she fell quiet and then took another large sip of her cocoa. “We shared a bed before, so I don’t see what the issue is with sharing a room now. Besides, and I’m not going to tell this to anyone or I’ll be suffocated every night, but I really hate being alone. And having you in the room would be kind of nice.”
But if she told Evan, he would be right there in her nest, or insisting she sleep with him and Tobias, and if she told Soleiyu…he would sleep on her face. So…it was better to just keep it all to herself.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:45 pm
Zac raised a brow, and maybe he was thinking the same thing. Evan would have invited her to sleep in his bed, or would have laid right there on the floor with her. Soleiyu would have curled up on her. She could have had company if she’d wanted it, but he was reminded that she had mentioned getting an apartment.
He wondered if she wanted space, and then wondered how much space she wanted.
“We’re not hurting, just had some unexpected expenses. I could take care of it, so I did. Evan had enough going on. He had a hard time getting back out there and getting back to work, there was a while there where he dropped it to try and find you.”
He watched her carefully, just trying to take in what he could to get an idea of how she felt. What she was thinking but not saying.
“And now he’s found you, and you’re sleeping on the floor. Half that bed is yours, why don’t you make your nest on the mattress if you’re not afraid of me threatening your virtue? I can’t imagine that nest is big enough for you to stretch out comfortably, you must be cramped. How’s your back?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:32 pm
“Well…I’m here so things can just…move on, I suppose. Yeah, I mean.” Talia paused, pursing her lips and looking as though she were actually thinking it over. “If…I make the nest on the bed, I’ll still be curled up, but it would be softer on my back. I’ll think on it. I suppose I should spend a few nights in the room with you first, just in case you snore or something. That could be a dealbreaker.”
She flashed a small smile and stood, stretching and wincing as her back did pop. He had her there. Curling up wasn’t…the most comfortable way to sleep.
“I’m going to go finish up the dough, are you going to head back to sleep or do you want to keep chatting and get to watch me do my baking thing…? Either is fine, but I’m not hating talking with you, just in case that helps your decision.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:51 am
He looked at her for a minute, contemplatively. She was still friendly. Still charming. Still cute.
“I don’t know, I’m not a morning person. But I guess if you let me put a cup of coffee on while you’re in there baking, maybe we can work past that.”
A part of him wanted to go back to sleep, but he didn’t want anyone else to find him. The couch was comfortable, so he leaned back and stretched, and stifled a yawn.
“Evan doesn’t like me in the kitchen when he’s cooking. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to see how he gets. He’s probably sweet around you, but he’s chased me out before. It’s my house, but the kitchen’s more his than mine. But when he cooks like that,” he shrugged. “You good at baking?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 2:51 pm
“Mornings suck, so that doesn’t surprise me. If you want coffee, I don’t mind. It always smells nice, and I’ll have a cup too.” It would help her wake up a little more, at least.
“God, no. You’re right. Evan’s a little scary with the kitchen. I wanted to make cookies…I guess. I was into baking things…um. Before. So, it was just…it’s what I do when I’m unhappy or nervous. Normally cookies, but he was just…he seemed so put out when I was in here. It was intimidating. That’s why I’m glad he’s sleeping now. Can’t yell at us when he’s not awake, after all. And by the time he is awake, we’ll be all finished.”
She grinned slightly and nodded towards the kitchen. “I’ll let you judge for yourself if I’m good at baking.”
…But honestly, Talia hoped he would think that she was. Not that she would admit it. He seemed like a difficult man to please.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 3:13 pm
Zac snorted and finally pushed himself up. “I’m not much for sweets so I’m a bit hard to please. I might not be the best judge. But we’ll go find out.”
He folded up the blanket carefully, as if he thought it might have been too important to just discard on the couch, and then started off towards the kitchen. “Never thought I’d hear you describe Evan as intimidating. The kitchen’s where he goes to decompress, too. I’m sure he’ll share it with you.”
And now he knew if she was baking cookies that maybe something was wrong.
“Are you baking cinnamon rolls now because you’re unhappy or nervous, or did you just want to do something sweet?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 3:35 pm
“So you keep saying! BUt, you drank the cocoa like it was coffee so I’m wondering how true that is. I think he’ll share it with me too, he said he would but…he hovers, and I know it’s because he worries, and likes things how he likes them…”
Talia shrugged, going and getting her bowl that was filled with the rising dough. Throwing some flour on the counter she began to roll it out, humming softly. “I wanted to surprise everyone. And I really wanted something sweet too. But…It’s nice to just be able to make a nice treat for your fa–ah. The people you live with, don’t you think?”
She shrugged her shoulders, pleased that her back was to him for the moment.
“Seriously though, Zac. If you really don’t like sweets, you don’t have to eat any. I’ll just take an extra.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:05 pm
Zac watched her back closely, as if it would have told him her secrets as much as he face might have.
“Well, homemade is a little better than right out of the can. Maybe I just haven’t had the right sweets up until now. Just tell Evan you want some space in the kitchen, he understands what it’s like. As long as you clean up and put things back where they were, and tell him if you used the last of anything, you won’t have any problems. He gets anxious if he finds out he’s missing an ingredient in the middle of cooking, like he’s going to ruin the whole meal. Most of the time he checks beforehand, but when he’s the only one cooking,” he shrugged.
Evan would get used to it.
“He doesn’t bake often, so I’m glad you’ve taken up the role. I bet you two would make quite a team. You can say ‘family’ if you want. Or ‘friends’ if you prefer. Doesn’t have to be just ‘people you live with’.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:24 pm
“Bold of you to assume I’m even going to share my treat with you, Zac. Bold of you to assume.” Talia would, if he wanted one. She wasn’t able to be that cruel, even if she would like to be just…for fun.
She was silent as she put the butter on the dough, and then mixed the cinnamon with the brown sugar and sprinkled all of it in an even layer, with raisins added to the mix as well. Finally, she shrugged when she began rolling the dough up. “I guess. And I’m sure that I will, just. Not yet. I’m not ready for that yet. Most of the people who live here are still strangers to me…but, I’m sure it’ll be friends soon. And…maybe one day you will all be my family. I don’t know.”
Talia hesitated and then glanced back at him. “...You and I…we dated? When I was Cambria?”
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