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 Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 8:14 pm
Mel peeked out from under the safety of her blanket at the sound of the doorbell. She hadn’t texted anyone in days so, given her occupation, the first thought that came to mind was if someone had called for a welfare check or something. Which was…maybe fair enough. She didn’t often cut communication for days on end. Nor did she often ask for so much time off, though in this case she had valid reasons!
At first, at least.
It sort of just worked out that the extra days led her to sink deeper into her little hole of demotivated blah. So maybe it made sense that some of her friends that didn't know that she was prone to these kinds of episodes once in a while worried to the point of making that kind of call. In any case, it wasn't like this was anything bad! She didn't think so, anyway. She'd get back into the swing of things!
Eventually.
After a bit of prodding.
...Maybe.
Narrowing her eyes at the door as the doorbell went off again, she briefly debated ignoring it, but her Criminal Minds-addled brain almost immediately jumped to a worst case scenario–cops breaking her door down and leaving it for her to repair on her own dime. Now that, she really didn’t want to have to do. So when the bell went off a third time, she quietly pouted as she retreated back into her blanket for a few seconds before standing up off of the spot where she was currently couch-rotting, wrapping the blanket around her, and trudging over to the door.
“Coming,” she called, hoping to keep whoever it was from ringing the doorbell for a fourth time. Pressing the little device that showed who it was at the door, she blinked back the bit of surprise that hit her when she saw who it was before she opened it.
“Aiden?”
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2025 11:47 am
Aiden had settled himself against the doorframe, propped up on one arm and apparently ready to keep ringing the doorbell until she came to answer. He brightened when the door actually opened and he righted himself.
“Mel,” he greeted pleasantly. “I was worried you were going to keep me ringing this all day. I was going to, by the way. Cleared my whole schedule for it.”
He’d dropped off a backpack and one very full plastic bag by the door but he was quick to pick them up now. “Can I come in? You weren’t answering your texts so I figured something was up. I brought you some things.”
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 12:41 am
It was a pleasant greeting, as was often the case when it came to Aiden, but Mel felt her insides fold in at the sight of her friend. It wasn't anything he did, of course! She just wasn't in the mood for entertaining, nor was her apartment in any state for it, either. Not that it was a mess, per se, but it wasn't as clean and tidy as she usually tried to keep it.
In the time it took for Mel to process what he was saying, Lulu had come up to the door, eyes bright and tail wagging as she spotted someone very friend-shaped at the door. She sat just by the entrance, but wiggled in place in all her excitement.
"Uh…" she hesitated, but ultimately pulled the door open to let him in. Given his opening line, she didn't imagine she could convince him that she was fine, so.
"Yeah, come on in. Sorry for the mess…"
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2025 9:25 pm
“Lulu-bean!” Aiden said, enthusiastically greeting the dog as soon as he spotted her. “Have you been naughty? Why did you make a mess in here!”
He smiled at Mel as he stepped inside, but the only judgment in his expression was meant for her apology.
Figuring it best to give her a moment, he crouched before Lulu and scratched behind her ears with both hands. “What mess were you talking about, Mel? If you think this is bad, you should see my room right now. I’ll facetime you when I get back, if it’ll make you feel better. I told myself I was just going to do a little reorganizing but now my room’s in eight different stacks and there’s piles all over. This looks fine. Honest.”
It was telling, at least for her, but it gave him insight enough to know that she obviously had something going on.
“If you’re worried about how it looks, I can help clean up some. You can veg on the couch, I brought you some presents. But really, it’s fine. Nothing’s on fire and I don’t see any rats.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2025 8:16 pm
Oh, Lulu was absolutely ecstatic to see him, barking happily and completely invading his space as soon as he crouched in front of her. Mel closed the door behind him in the meantime, and swept her eyes across the open space of her condo. The state of it put a weight on her shoulders, causing them to visibly sag even as he reassured her that it wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be.
She managed a small smile at that.
"Thanks," she said, moving toward the kitchen and grabbing a pitcher of tea from the fridge. "Uh. So what brings you over? Not that you're not welcome, but…"
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:10 pm
“Missed you,” Aiden said, which was far nicer than saying ‘I haven’t heard from you in days, you’re ghosting me, nobody knows what’s going on, I know something is wrong, I don’t know if I could trust you if you’d told me it was fine, I’m here to shake you out of whatever hole you’re sinking into.’
“I read about an art heist this morning and immediately thought about you. Have you heard? The A.E. Deleona, last night. I guess four paintings got swiped. But not even the most expensive ones there, just four from a collection. The exhibit hadn’t even opened yet, I guess they were on loan? Feel free to shut me up. I only read about it because I heard the paintings were haunted. I wanted to pick your brain about it but you weren’t picking up the phone. I read a rumor that he painted those in human blood. I read a bunch of theories. I figured, ‘my very smart, good friend Mel, knows all about art. I should ask her,’ so here I am.”
She was alive and in one piece and able to host him.
He still had a million questions for her, though.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 5:49 pm
Mel had started to busy herself in the kitchen in an effort to keep to hosting duties, eyes and expression falling slightly when he admitted to missing her. It felt like the statement was purposely vague to spare her feelings, which was great! But also somehow made her feel that much worse about things. Her shoulders sagged some as she picked up the tray with the pitcher, glasses, and a plate of assorted sugar cookies.
"Sorry," she said as she pulled her lips up into a small, apologetic smile. Minding Lulu, who was hovering around Aiden's feet, tail wagging and all, Mel led the way into the living room, setting the tray down on the coffee table before she started to then busy herself with tidying up a bit. Particularly making sure there was room for him to sit and comfortable, but she also grabbed the nearest plastic bag and started stuffing it with anything that even remotely looked like it belonged in the trash–food wrappers mostly, and the occasional soda can because they were a guilty pleasure during these little episodes of hers. But she glanced over at Aiden every so often as he spoke, nodding along as she had heard about it and had looked into the initial reports that had made it onto her feed.
Once it was clear enough she glanced over at Aiden, smile still weak but just a tad bit brighter than earlier. Gesturing to the now semi-presentable space, she said, "Make yourself at home," before taking a seat as well, brows scrunching together as she grabbed the closest pillow and wrapped herself around it while tucking her legs underneath her. It was almost like she was subconsciously trying incredibly hard to stay small and just...out of the way.
"Yeah, I heard. Hard to miss with the accounts I follow. A lot of them flew in for the exhibit, actually, so there's the angry posts mixed in with the shock and disbelief and sleuth-y stuff." Curling up even further, she rested her chin on the pillow as she went on, head tilted so she was looking up and over at Aiden as she spoke.
"I was planning on going, too, actually. The rumors about that whole collection are like...just on this side of insane, y'know? And...I mean. I'm horrible about haunted things–you remember that incident when I got stuck in the lab on campus overnight?" She paled a bit at the memory, but continued anyway. "So you know I'm really, really bad with that kind of stuff. But! I mean, how could I not? This was the first time the whole collection was gonna be available at one exhibit. I was thinking maybe there was something tying them together or something."
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2025 4:52 pm
Aiden didn’t need to be told twice, and as soon as she told him to make himself at home, he did. His eyes lingered on her form–small, and unobtrusive, in her own home? Briefly, he wondered if he was making her uncomfortable, but he shared a lazy, apologetic smile with her.
“Of course I remember you getting stuck on campus overnight. I was so jealous. I mean! Not that it was a good time for you! But what kid didn’t dream of falling into some school mystery? Not that I’m making light of anything you went through. Wish it was me,” he said, partly so she didn’t have to go through it.
Mostly because he had a sick sense of fun apparently, but he was an adrenaline junkie looking for something new, anyway.
“Ah, too bad. At least we know it won’t happen again, you just power up and you’re strong enough to bust through walls, right?”
He was teasing, but there was a seriousness in his voice, too.
“Would have been cool if the paintings were haunted, though. I really wanted to see them,” he sighed, and though he briefly hung his head–dejected–he lifted it quickly, smiling again. “Oh well. Even if they aren’t there, you wanna go to the gallery with me anyway?”
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 11:46 pm
"Kinda wish it'd been you, too," she laughed lightly, mood lifting bit by bit. "At least you would've had more fun with it than I did."
Aiden had always had that effect on her. He just somehow knew how to get her to open up again, and gave her just enough confidence that she could start to stir herself back up and out of these weird little episodes of hers. He never pressed too hard and, at least to her, seemed content to be a reassuring presence whenever he felt she might need it.
He was a good friend.
The best, actually.
Mel let out a breath, her shoulders gradually relaxing as the conversation went on, and her eyes gradually regaining their usual brightness even as he teased her. She wrinkled her nose at him in response, but let it go. If it did happen again, she'd just call him to keep her company again.
Hah!
"Same," she sighed again, though rather than cave in on herself she actually unwrapped herself from around the pillow and reached for the glasses to pour them both some tea, setting his glass on a coaster close to him first before getting her own. By the time his invite came, she had nabbed a cookie and was lifting to her mouth as she gave it some thought.
"Yeah..." The answer came out slowly, as she was sifting through what she could remember would also be at the gallery. There would be plenty of other pieces there, after all, that she also wanted to see. Plenty of people, maybe, which while for the moment she preferred to avoid... at least Aiden would be there, too.
"Yeah, sure."
She offered her friend a slightly bigger and brighter smile, not quite there yet but much closer to her usual self than when he first got there.
"When does it open again?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:59 am
"Might be open right now,” he mused, and tipped his head like he was contemplating what that might mean for them. He had a knowing look in his eye, a silent invitation that they could slip out and go see it now, but he didn’t want to tug her too much out of her comfort zone.
She looked brighter now than she had when he’d first arrived but he knew better than to push too hard. At least, not without testing the waters first.
A cookie in one hand and drink in another, Aiden felt thoroughly spoiled.
“Last I heard, the police were done there. What do you think–today, tomorrow? When are you free? That’s when I want to go.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2025 8:56 pm
She blinked, considering it for a moment while she took another cookie, finished it, and washed it all down with a sip of her drink. It wasn't a hard invitation to accept, but she had to go to battle with her own mind. Him being there helped, it always did, and after a minute (and another cookie) she gave a little nod.
"Now seems okay..." she said slowly, though glanced down at her state of dress and let out a breath. "Gimme a bit to get cleaned up and ready to go? An hour, probably less?"
Mel offered him a brighter smile still, wondering if he'd question how accurate her estimated time to get ready actually was. "You can have some more cookies," she said, as a small consolation because maybe she was underestimating it just a little. "And stream most of a movie or a whole episode of something?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:25 pm
Aiden grinned, almost boyishly, but with the air of someone who did not believe it would take her an hour to get ready. “I can do that,” he said, perfectly fine with making himself comfortable. How was he going to say no to cookies?
And he did have shows to catch up on; he’d been running around so much the last few days that it hardly felt like he’d had any time to catch his breath.
Without one of his projects in front of him, he had no choice but to take it easy.
And, if he watched with the volume loud enough, maybe she’d get interested and pick up the show too.
“Don’t work too hard, you look great already,” he insisted, stretching for the remote.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2025 8:24 pm
Mel rolled her eyes, her cheeks a tinge pinker than they were before he so naturally dropped the compliment while reaching for the remote. She was smiling though, as she got up and stretched out.
"Flatterer," she accused, tone light and affectionate. "Don't spoil my dog while I'm gone," and then she disappeared into the bedroom.
Lulu, as if on cue, moved to sit in front of the very familiar, very friend-shaped guest. Her lips were pulled back and her tongue lolled out in her version of a grin. Virtually everything about her said that she was clearly ready to be spoiled while her mom was gone.
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