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 Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:25 pm
He felt bad for crying, even if Cassidy said he didn’t have to apologize. He didn’t want to bother him with his emotions, especially since he knew what Cassidy went through must have been horrible.
From experience, too. Although he’d been much younger, and it was another lifetime ago.
“I hate hospitals,” he agreed, hiding his face once more. At least long enough to try and settle himself a bit. He scrubbed at his face, and used the sleeve of his sweater to try and mop up the tears. “It’s not your fault. We would have been there, though. If you had a party. We should do a welcome back party. When you feel up to it, I mean. It’s okay if you want to settle in, first,” he promised.
“We missed you too,” he sniffled, taking another breath to settle himself. “It’s good to see you in person, again. If you ever need anything, please let us know!”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:28 pm
“I want a welcome back party! I’m settling in well enough. It’s just been so fast. You know, ‘go-go-go’. I had to go buy almost all new school supplies because I can’t figure out which box half my things are in. But it’s fine, new year, fresh start.” He shrugged. “I’d have invited everyone over to my house but it’s still such a mess. My dad went right back to work so he hasn’t unpacked hardly anything, and my mom put things in storage and just moved into a pre-furnished place. I’ve been staying with my dad mostly, because mom’s, you know, dating. So I don’t really have anywhere I can invite people. Yet.”
He didn’t sound too miserable about it and grabbed a small handful of grapes as he held Atticus in a one-armed hug. He began to snack on them again; there was a lot of food and he didn’t want Atticus to feel bad about overpreparing. He could definitely eat all this.
Especially if Elliot was going to help.
“But I figure, school starting soon, everyone’s probably busy. I didn’t want to be disappointed by a poor turnout! So I figure, you know, a few weeks of school, make sure everyone remembers me, and then I’ll do something.” He shrugged once more and popped a grape into his mouth. “You’re so sweet, though. I had to visit you before school started. I don’t know if I’ll need anything but I sure do like your hugs. And snacks. What are you looking forward to with school starting, are there any classes or clubs you’re excited for? Have you made more friends that you’re going to have to introduce me to?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:30 pm
“It’s probably a good thing that you did,” Atticus admitted, once again trying to clear his voice from the sniffling hiccups from crying. “I don’t think I would have been able to stop myself from crying.”
And then he would have been crying in the hall, and it would have been super embarrassing for everyone involved, and then his dad and Elliot’s dads would have been worried. And Elliot might have ended up being late to class because he would have wanted to make sure Atticus was okay. It would have been a huge mess.
“Um… not really. Not in the last six months at least. I think I heard my cousin is starting at Azure this year. I mean… he’s papa’s, uh… uncle’s son. So… my second cousin? I’m not sure. But his name is Xavier and he’ll be starting. We haven’t really talked much since I’m, uh… new to the family.”
Being part of such a diverse and lively family was overwhelming but so much fun. There were so many people that he didn’t think he’d ever memorize their names, much less their faces. Or maybe he’d know their faces but not their names. It was stressful either way. But thankfully, Elliot was practically family, so he and the Reids often joined the Gallo get-togethers, especially over the holidays.
He was glad that Cassidy was eating, at least. So he reached over to take a couple grapes for himself to snack on now that he wasn’t sobbing.
“I think I’m going to join the art club, though. I think they help with displays the school needs, like for any plays, or decorating for events. It might be fun. I’m signed up for papa’s poetry class, so that should be fun. And Elliot’s dads teach multiple grades so I think I’ll probably end up in one of theirs. What about you? Anything you’re looking forward to taking?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:30 pm
“Oh, I don’t know what I’m looking forward to yet. Maybe all of it, I’m just kind of glad to be back in school. I hope I’m not behind or anything, I got some supplemental materials while I was out. I think you’ll be great in art club, Atticus. You’ll have to take lots of pictures, I’ll even go to school plays just to see what you do. Xavier, huh?”
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Well, make sure to point him out to me, I’ll keep an eye out for him. But I’m sure he’s already in good hands. I think it’s cute that you’re going to be in Mr. Gallo’s class. Give me some poetry tips, maybe I’ll send Riker love notes.”
Cassidy placed a few grapes in his mouth and laughed again.
“Oh, poor Riker!” Elliot said as he came in. He was beaming, clearly glad to see Cassidy, and since he was already hugging Atticus it seemed fair to just give them both a quick hug. He was gentle with Cassidy because he’d seen him in the hospital, and it was a strange disconnect to see him up and walking, almost like normal. “Don’t pick on him.”
“I’m not! Why does everyone doubt me?” Cassidy laughed again. He gave Elliot a half hug, and smacked him on the back. “You two are lucky, you don’t have to worry about impressing someone or winning them over. I bet neither of you played hard to get.”
“We didn’t have to! We locked eyes and that was it, love at first sight. And it’s been happily ever after since then. Atticus, this display looks amazing, you did a really good job. My dads said to tell you that you can come over whenever you want, Cass. They’re doing a puzzle together. But don’t rush over there, I want to catch up.”
“We have time, I told Atticus I want to spend time with him! Oh, I and I was wondering if you can give help me fix up my lucky wallet. I kinda messed it up a little bit, it’s got some holes. I think it looks cool but I don’t know, I’m worried it might not work for much longer if I don’t take care of it. So I thought I’d talk to the art expert. Especially because I know your dad can do all that cool beading stuff. I don’t think I can learn how to do that, can I commission you to help me fix up my lucky wallet?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:31 pm
Atticus immediately perked up some when he heard Elliot’s voice. The hug between the two of them was perfect, even if he felt a little squished between how tall they both were, although Elliot was a bit taller than Cassidy.
He was grateful that Elliot immediately covered how they didn’t play hard to get. On the contrary, it was a very awkward and embarrassing process for Atticus, and very patient and understanding on Elliot’s part.
Maybe one day he would tell Cassidy how he and Elliot ended up talking frequently with each other, but he was just pleased that Cassidy was back in the city and they could all hang out.
“Does Riker know you’re trying to impress him?” Atticus chirped curiously, and kept glancing up at Elliot with bright eyes as though he was trying to keep himself from trying to kiss him. He hoped the little smile was enough to prove that he was okay, even if his eyes were red.
Not that he knew everything about Riker, but he seemed very defensive about almost everything. Atticus wouldn’t be surprised if someone giving him a compliment would be taken as an insult.
But, of course, he quickly shook his head when Cassidy asked if he could commission him, looking up at him with wide eyes, clearly touched by the request.
“You don’t have to commission me, Cass. I would be happy to help however I can! We can figure out what would be best for you. Oh, I haven’t worked much with leather, I’ll have to see if I can find some books or watch some tutorials before starting. I really don’t want to ruin a lucky wallet.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:32 pm
“Well, I hope he does! I’ve been trying for years! He’s just so thick headed. He always thinks I’m teasing him. Maybe I am, a little, but it’s the only way to get through to him. He gets cranky any time you say nice things to him, did you notice that? Such a difficult boy.”
Cassidy only sounded fond.
“Are you sure I can’t commission you? You’re too sweet, Atticus. And so creative. I don’t want to take advantage of that, especially if it’s a new skill you have to learn! But,” he snickered a little, and stretched his hand between Elliot and Atticus to grab a few crackers. “You’d have to work really hard to ruin this one. It’s pretty tough. And it’s lucky, so,” he shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I don’t really even know what I want to do with it, so maybe we could brainstorm. You’re so creative.”
“It’s true,” Elliot said, only drawing back from the hug so he could go pick at some of the food, too. Atticus had worked so hard, he wasn’t going to let any of it go to waste. “Atticus is one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. With the biggest heart, too.”
“Oh, you two are already dating, you’re so sappy, Elliot. Let me out of this hug, I know you two are just going to kiss. I can see it in your eyes.”
Elliot laughed, again as Cassidy wriggled out of the hug, and immediately planted kisses all over Atticus’ face as if it had been his intention all along.
Cassidy ate a few of the crackers while Elliot made dramatic kissing sounds before actually kissing Atticus. Between one cracker and the next, he said, “Oh,” suddenly, and then, “Hey, I was on some message boards for Destiny City. You guys keep having some weird things going on, what’s that about? I trust you more than randos on the internet. And I’m not paranoid or anything, but like, what’s going on with that? Is it mass hysteria or just some prank?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:33 pm
Atticus squealed and giggled with delight and amusement the moment he had kisses all over his face. He was grateful that Cassidy was so accommodating to their mushiness. He usually felt guilty when they were too affectionate around others, but how could he not want to kiss his boyfriend? Or at least hold his hand!
Since Cassidy was out of the hug, Atticus made himself comfortable in Elliot’s arms, with his arms wrapped around Elliot, but loose enough for Elliot to reach over for snacks if he wanted, or to escape if he desired. Loose enough so that he could reach over and mimic their lead by taking a couple crackers to nibble on as well.
He definitely had a lot to think about. Like how he was going to work with Cassidy’s lucky wallet without ruining it. But he at least nodded to confirm that Cassidy didn’t have to pay him.
The topic of weird things had him pausing for a few moments, and then he glanced up at Elliot as though not sure what to say. He didn’t want Cassidy to be at a disadvantage, but he knew they should be cautious.
But… they could trust Cassidy, right? He couldn’t possibly be part of the Negaverse! Right?
“We’ve come across some strange things that have been happening,” Atticus admitted, albeit cautiously, still looking up at Elliot for a while longer as he spoke, before finally glancing over to Cassidy. “It’s not really safe to be out at night, but it’s never really reported why, or what’s going on.” As though someone, or an organization, was keeping the truth from being put out to the public.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:34 pm
“For real?” Cassidy asked. Atticus had put out plates so instead of being a heathen, he scooped some dip onto one and grabbed a few pieces of meat and cheese so he could make little cracker sandwiches, too. “That’s crazy. I mean, human trafficking, mugging, gang activity, whatever. I even heard about giant rats in the city? But those are all normal big city troubles, right?”
“I think Destiny City’s cursed,” Elliot said matter of factly. “I mean, there’s all sorts of weird things outside of that, you know? I’d rather think it’s ghosts and curses instead of like, the power plant polluting things and messing us all up. But that’s probably what it is.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I mean, they just released a study, the soil in one of the parks has a weirdly high level of radioactive trace in it? The news says not to worry about it but that could just be corporate influence. They never tell you the truth.”
“That’s true.” Cassidy leaned back thoughtfully and hummed. “I guess that makes sense. Just weird, though. What strange things have you come across, Atticus?”
Elliot rubbed Atticus’ back, gentle and supportive. He was a little cautious; Cassidy wasn’t a bad person, but he was very energetic and liked to talk, a lot.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:37 pm
It was really difficult not to come out and tell Cassidy everything he knew. He trusted him! But he was also good at keeping secrets when he had to. It was how he learned to survive, and he knew his parents and Elliot and his friends counted on him to be able to keep his mouth shut.
“Oh… you know, just strange wild animal sightings. Oh! I mean, I haven’t seen much on my own. Maybe a shadow on my way home once, but I was probably being paranoid. But I’ve heard others talking about stuff like that. I don’t like going out when it gets late.”
Which was true, even though he did go out when he could, because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.
He took Elliot’s lead, of course. Elliot didn’t want to tell Cassidy anything, so he would keep his mouth shut as well.
“I would say that maybe we should get a dog but-- oh. No. Papa is really sensitive to things like that. Noises especially. We have a cat, though. You’ve met him. He’s around-- um… somewhere. I bet he would protect us from any strange animals.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:40 pm
“Yeah, where’s he hiding? He’s a big cat, he’d have to work really hard to stay out of sight. He’s not afraid of me now, is he? I thought we were buddies.” He made another cracker sandwich and peered around, but when he didn’t immediately see Lucien he mused, “Now that you mention it though, I did get a weird vibe on my way home last night. I just assumed there was some really big raccoon or something. It followed me for a while, I was getting really creeped out. I was just trying to get to the bus stop. I mean, I got home just fine, but it was weird.”
“Yeah,” Elliot sighed, and though he’d tensed just slightly, he rubbed Atticus’ back and stayed calm. “I mean, some of the rats have gotten huge. Strange animals, right? Radioactive, I’m telling you.”
“You don’t think it could be aliens?” Cassidy asked, and though he laughed like it was a joke, he was definitely watching their faces. Elliot was good at keeping a straight face and being a little more unreadable–at least, when he wanted to be. But even he had to crack sometimes, right?
And Atticus...
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:42 pm
Before Atticus had any time to react to Cassidy’s question about aliens, Lucien jumped up onto the table with all the snacks and meowed loudly. A beautiful, regal meow, of course.
It was horrible manners, and he didn’t like to even pretend like he was going to ruin things, but he took careful aim at the bowl of popcorn, and accidentally knocked it off the table to send popped kernels everywhere.
He knew Atticus was sensitive to things, and the line of questioning was getting a little too troublesome. Which meant he would have to cause some trouble instead, as long as it meant shifting the attention.
“Lucien!” Atticus gasped before he had any time to even consider aliens. He stared at the Mauvian in disbelief, not believing that he could have possibly--
Oh… oh, he was trying to keep him from saying anything he shouldn’t.
Atticus felt his cheeks flush, and he quickly pulled away from Elliot so he could shuffle off to get a broom from the closet.
He was scared that Cassidy might have run into a youma. How he managed to escape wasn’t something Atticus wanted to think about much, otherwise he’d probably start crying again.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:42 pm
“Oh! Lucien! You did miss me,” Cassidy said, and he hastily put his plate down on the table and leaned forward so he could scoop his arms under the cat and pick him up. “Do you need help, Atticus?”
“No, it’s okay. I got it,” Elliot smiled. “You just take it easy.”
“Well, if you insist. Lucien! That was so naughty. I was going to eat that. Now I’ll have to eat you, instead.” He picked the cat up as much as he could and held him to his chest. “I’m just kidding. You’re too pretty to be lunch.”
Elliot snorted but said, “I’ll be right back,” and hurried after Atticus. He placed a hand on his back as soon as he reached him and smiled reassuringly.
Cassidy leaned back just slightly, almost enough to see where those two had disappeared off to. He sighed heavily and pressed his lips together. “Lucy, you got heavier. Or I got weaker.” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He knew what the answer was, and was tempted to lift the cat while Elliot and Atticus were gone. He didn’t.
“...Oh, I guess I should put you down. Hold on, we have to go to the couch. I can’t bend down that well while holding you, I don’t want to drop you.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:43 pm
Being such a large cat, it was pretty common for anyone picking him up to make it uncomfortable and awkward. He did his best to hold still for a little while, but then forced his way up to Cassidy’s shoulder -- well, he was too big to get on his shoulder completely, but he did drape his front legs over it. And maybe too aggressively butted his head against Cassidy’s chin with affection as he purred.
He didn’t have healing abilities of his own, but there was scientific proof that purring was beneficial to regrowing damaged tissue and broken bones.
Naturally, Lucien knew all about Cassidy’s accident. He’d even discussed with the boys any potential flaws in their plan to smuggle Cassidy to the moon to heal him. Or at least get some alone time with him somewhere that they could power up. Which meant that Lucien volunteered to mask auras when the time came.
That didn’t happen, though.
He meowed again in agreement, or just to meow and be a distraction, his large tail swishing as he was carried.
Atticus jumped when Elliot placed his hand on his back, and he clutched at his chest as he spun around to face him.
“Do you think he knows? Why would he ask about stuff like that?” he squeaked in his panic. He didn’t want Cassidy thinking that they didn’t trust him, but they had to be careful!
Knowing Elliot was there to help him was a relief, though. He pulled out the broom to hand to Elliot, grateful of him being there, while he picked up the smaller duster brush and dust pan. He could get down on his knees so Elliot wouldn’t have to.
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:52 pm
“You are so smart, Lucien,” Cassidy sighed. “It’s like you know what I’m saying. When I was home alone, I thought a cat might be nice to keep me company, but you know? You’re the only one I could think of and I know no cat on Earth could compare to you. You’ve got those smart eyes. Let’s go sit down for a minute.”
He wouldn’t say it but he was eager to get off his feet, even if just for a minute. All that showing off what good health he was in was fine and all, but he had biked all the way over here. Just a minute to sit, he could use Lucien as an excuse.
Cassidy sank down onto the sofa, careful not to jostle Lucien as he did so. The cat seemed to have such good balance but he didn’t want to knock him off or squeeze him between himself and the couch. He breathed a sigh of relief but lamented, “Oh, I should have brought my snack plate. Ah, I’ll get it in a minute. You’re so cozy, maybe I’ll ask Atticus if I can spend the night some time. I want to cuddle with you.” He was so warm and soothing.
Even if he was a little trouble maker who must not have liked aliens.
In the other room, Elliot shook his head. “No,” he reassured softly. “Cassidy spends a lot of time on the internet, he’s on all those weird sites. He’s probably just teasing. Don’t take it too seriously. If he asks if you believe in aliens, just say yes and we like the guy on the history channel who talks about them. He likes to come up with weird topics to keep you talking. You know how he is. You okay, though? Did I miss something while I was gone?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 6:54 pm
Lucien made himself comfortable against Cassidy once he settled onto the couch. Of course he was delighted by all of the compliments that he couldn’t respond to, so he just swished his tail and kneaded his claws into Cassidy’s shoulder.
It was a shame there was nothing senshi resonating from Cassidy’s starseed. He would have very much liked to be able to converse with him, but he was very aware of the dangers that came with revealing identities.
And Lucien refused to put his bonded or his family at risk.
So instead, he rubbed his cheeks against Cassidy’s shoulder and face to keep him distracted and show his affection. As if he wouldn’t show affection to anyone who gave him such nice compliments.
In the other room, Atticus nodded to Elliot in understanding, and took a breath to settle himself before crouching down to start scooping up some of the popcorn.
“No, you didn’t miss anything,” Atticus promised, although the color on his cheeks probably gave away that he’d definitely been crying. “I was just happy to see Cassidy. Um… do you think we should tell him? Oh… I’m not going to. I just, well, I would like to invite him to places with everyone but, if he’s the only one who doesn’t know about things, it might be confusing if some conversations come up. But-- no, we shouldn’t. You’re right. Sorry! I don’t like hiding things, but I can!”
He was good at keeping his mouth shut, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
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