ooc: if i could resubmit my app for pip id just link to this video for each section it captures him perfectly. in fact, maybe i should just pin this actually, it tells u everything u need to know
Have you ever considered thinking about the sun maybe? Thinking about her golden glance? Maybe consider how she lights the world up and now it’s your chance
Tell him “Babe, I made this
With my own hands." Ain't it something? Sitting cross-legged
‘Cause we haven’t got a table yet, oh, oh
Saving up, gonna get a few chairs, get a whole set
And I got my bed and my closet and a living room floor
Woah, I got a living room floor
Pip and Milo had been in New York City for about ten days, which meant they were four days away from checking out of their Brooklyn AirBnB, a one-bedroom hole in the ground with only a shitty standing lamp, which meant that he and Milo started to grope around in the dark starting as early as 6 pm, since the sun could not reach them below ground. He felt like a mole person, but that was excellent motivation to spend as little time hiding there as possible. Instead, the past ten days were go-go-go, which was Pip’s preferred gear.
Why sit around anyway? He had been waiting to get to NYC for literally fifteen years. Now he was here.
Now, he wanted to make things happen.
Already, he mapped the best routes from Brooklyn to Broadway and other must-see places in Manhattan, and Milo did the same to Koreatown. Pip had applied to twelve– twelve!!–coffee shops, plus a few retail places. The retail places were ghosting him. But he had a second interview in two days at Bibble & Sip, an insta-trendy bakery-cafe that was like if Hatter’s and Lucky Cat had a really expensive baby who got a marketing degree from Harvard. It fit Pip and all his many shades– who was he spiritually but a really cute nepo baby with Ivy League aspirations? So he was manifesting.
And if he got it– he could afford Magic Number Eight.
When Pip and Milo walked in, something shifted. Pip could not explain it, considering the apartment was completely bare yet still lived in, if that made sense. Maybe that was why it felt a little different from the others– because Pip spotted a few holes where someone had absolutely hung up some posters or pictures. He noted the stain on the carpet, either from an animal or an ill-advised party. But it smelled freshly cleaned. On the fourth floor, it had a big window and a tiny balcony, light pouring through. The kitchen was tiny, but it had a counter space for Milo, and a brand new, freshly replaced microwave, plus a backsplash of subway tile that made Pip smile at once. It was just the kind of quirky detail that made you remember a place.
The shower worked– and there was an actual bathtub!!! And there were no mysterious, ghoulish stains on the ceilings signaling inevitable water damage or mold.
The rooms were small too, obviously, but Pip liked that one faced the street. He looked out the window and saw people bustling around. He thought about all the old sitcoms he used to watch– the ones from Amy’s VCRs, like Friends and Sex and the City. It was like he was an old '90s character. He could feel himself stepping into the main billing. His name first in the credits.
“Oh my god, and the window opens!” Pip exclaimed in amazement when, indeed, the window opened up to the fire escape and he tasted sweltering humid air. “Wow, we wouldn’t die in case of disaster!”
As a child of Swynlake, having an escape plan was paramount.
He wandered back into the living room and looked around. There was nothing, really, that jumped out to him as problematic. The building even had a laundromat just down the street. Plus, not even far from the subway line that could take him right into Manhattan to the theatre district.
He waited, taking a deep breath, like he was waiting for the floor to collapse under him. Or something worse.
But only the street noises from the busy city chirped at him, beautiful music to his ears.
Pip smiled at Milo. “I have a really good feeling about this place,” said Pip, who was a boy of very few good feelings. He was a boy of fewer risks, but still– wasn’t that what a dream was, anyway? So Pip took another one: “This is it. Let’s sign.”
Two days later, Pip and Milo brought their suitcases into Magic Number Eight, and slept on the floor.
One day after that, Pip was hired at Bibble & Sip.
Today, Pip and Milo thrifted cheap kitchenware and made ramyun. They plopped down right on the carpeted floor, the curtains flung open, sunset bleeding through and turning everything golden. The ramyun made Pip’s stomach warm and full. He flopped back on his carpet and felt like a kid again, building forts and pretending he was already in NYC.
But he wasn’t pretending anymore. And so Pip giggled, eyes scrunching up as he looked up at his blank ceiling and saw constellations anyway, as if all his next moves were already mapped out for him. Tomorrow, he had to learn how to draw faces on cream puffs! But he also saw some cute boys working behind the counter, so like, maybe they could help him. He had already made a note of a few more auditions coming up this weekend, too. He would probably get rejected! But hello, Pip was a master of rejection– and after everything he had been through, it felt like nothing could knock him down, as long as he had this apartment, something he’d made happen all by himself.
“Oh my god, I am still hungry!” Pip exclaimed, sitting up. “What do you think? Round two?”
And this time, Pip squeezed himself beside Milo in the kitchen as his makeshift sous chef, and the smell of delicious spices and noodles turned Magic Number Eight into a home.
I thought I was the type of person who was going to end up all alone.
Milo's hand slipped up to the one cupping his cheek, gently squeezing Amy's hand as his teeth sank softly into his lip. For years, Milo had watched his family slip away one by one until he'd had nothing left. No one but himself, trapped away in a body that didn't even belong to him. For years he'd been tossed around family to family, only finding a brief moment of peace with Sharon-
But even then, that had been only a glimmer of hope in an otherwise grim situation.
By then, Milo had long since resigned to being stuck a dog forever. Convinced that he would live and die alone, trapped in a voiceless cage that was Pluto. Burdened to never be able to be himself, find love, friendship or family ever again. He'd completely given up hope.
Until Amy.
It was only with her bringing him home here, to her small little family of herself and Pip that it had felt like a comfortable acceptance. That at least if he were to live and die a dog, he'd get to live the rest of his life with a family as good as the Seville's. That same feeling held true now, except for the fact that Milo was human now, getting to live out the rest of his life with the Seville's as himself - and he owed almost all of that to Amy.
Pip was his best friend, his brother, his confidant, his person - and he'd done so much for him over the years and especially in those first few weeks, but... it was a simple fact; he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Amy.
Amy Seville had saved his life.
His head ducked, unable to stifle the fresh wave of tears from slipping down his cheeks as he reached forward and gently pulled Amy into another hug. "Thank you." He all but whispered, giving her another careful squeeze before he stepped back to swipe at his eyes before repeating the same gesture with Pip. Though that hug was a little more bone-crushing, if only because it was Milo in nature to do that.
"You two mean the world to me." Milo managed when he drew back the second time, swiping his shoulder against his cheek to try and wipe his tears again. "...and I know it seems silly - but you really are the best family I've ever had.. and I've had a lot." Milo declared, partially joking, but... at the root of it all he was serious too.
The Seville's, no matter how little and broken (but still good too) - really were the best family he'd ever have.
Milo's comment made him rethink. And as he did, he saw a life filled with family, hidden in different pockets. Pip Seville was many things (obnoxious, neurotic, loud, competitive, prissy, judgmental, mean at times, jealous, reactive--), but he had never been alone, had he?
He had his Hatter's family-- Mr. Hatter, Riley, Laurette, Cami, and the countless other baristas who had come and gone.
He had his theatre family-- which shifted from musical to musical and play too play, but they were always bonded by the love of performing. Those long rehearsal hours and silly warm-up activities that helped Pip fall in love with theatre-- it was the first place he'd really felt at home.
And then there were things like SSIC and Build-a-Brand, which were families he made-- things he built with his own hands.
And all the friends who loved Pip, despite the fact he was... well, obnoxious, neurotic, loud, competitive, prissy, judgmental, mean at times, jealous, and reactive...
Pip was such a lucky boy. He had family everywhere he turned.
Tears still streaming down his face, he laughed at Milo and hugged him again. "Well, we better be the favorite! I let you slobber on my shoes!"
Amy laughed too. "Come on boys-- the challah is done! Let's cut some fresh slices and celebrate."
Pip grinned. "Literally could not think of anything I'd rather do."
A swell of misplaced pride ached in his chest as, to him, he felt as though he had no right to it. What had he done for the kid other than make him clean counters and deal with the odd customer who complained about the ratio of caramel in their drink? Seville had paved his own path– as he would continue to, since Hatter suspected the kid would have too many notes for anyone who ever tried to weigh in.
But maybe that's why he felt it, because he knew Seville. He had known him for years, had watched him turn into the person standing in front of Hatter who was getting out of this small town in favor of a place much bigger and much more frightening.
Something Hatter had never done and would never do.
He had done this before several times now, though. Watched as someone pressed off from one stepping stone to the next one. It never did get any easier. In fact, it almost seemed harder now. The pain was familiar and knowing what was to come was worse than the unknown. Now he knew what to expect, knew that every time that Wham! song came on during the holidays he'd think about Seville, along with every time the summer play was advertised and when April 21st rolled around. He wasn't the biggest fan of celebrating birthdays, obviously, but that didn't knock the meaning of the day out of it completely.
"I'll do my best. Can't promise the wheels won't come off for a few months with the loss," he said with a puff of amusement. Hatter regarded Seville for another moment, still wondering if it was his place, but felt compelled to say so anyway. "You, on the other hand, will be just fine. I've no doubt about that."
Pip was still teary-eyed and splotchy-faced, but Hatter's comment summoned yet another smile to Pip's face-- and that signature gleam into his eyes.
Was it kind of fucked up to sort of...wish that what Hatter said was true? That without him, Hatter's might struggle for a little bit? Just i a few totally harmless ways of course! Like, orders could take thirty seconds longer to fill, or people would notice a dip in espresso quality when Pip was not there to brew it just right and make sure it didn't get burned! (Yes, you could burn beans-- newbies did it all the time!)
Little things like that would eventually smooth themselves over. Selfishly though, Pip hoped there could be a Pip-sized hole in this place for just a little. Just long enough that people really missed him. Long enough that they thought to themselves, Pip Seville really was a great barista.
That was the secret wish Pip held in his heart. And yes, it was selfish, but it came from a place of loving Hatter's so much, it felt difficult to let go.
So let a piece of him linger here, too.
"Y-yeah. Of course. Obviously!" Pip puffed his chest, pulling that old confidence in himself around him like a kingly robe. "But don't worry, Mr. Hatter. I'm going to thank you in my acceptance speech at the Oscars. You'll be one of the first names in there. A boy's got to honor his roots!" Pip laughed.
Then-- still blushing a little, he picked up his cloth. "I can ah-- finish up here now. Still a couple of tables to turn over."
And for once, Pip was looking forward to it. He wanted to leave Hatter's sparkling.
Most things went unsaid, Hiro had discovered that. The dramatics of big confessions were appealing, in some ways. But was life really like a movie? Maybe in some universe, but in that one? Where magic was the norm but there wasn't any magical fix where the story had the perfect ending?
The problem with perfect endings was that everybody's perfect wasn't quite the same; Hiro didn't even know what his was supposed to look like yet and for all his certainty Pip likely didn't either.
Maybe Pip was right, maybe Pip didn't know he was right, or even what he was right about. He wasn't sure if the comment was purposed or not; he understood computers better than people and that hadn't changed much over time. Maybe in small ways, but less in the ways that probably counted.
But he did understand leaving people behind and wondering about all the might have been to it. That wasn't what he wanted to leave Pip with; he had a future to chase and who knew what he would find there.
Knowing Pip it would be something messy in the best and the worst ways, but he hoped even that gave him what he was looking for.
I want to, but it's not going to mean you won't be gone.
Some confessions belonged in their own time, and that time wasn't right at the very beginning. It was Pip's beginning, wasn't it?
He didn't know how many text messages would go without replies or calls unanswered, lost in the busy pacing of Pip's new life; forever felt outlandish but he did regret missed time.
"The world isn't that big," he mused, more for the sake of reminding himself with that grounding touch, "you need me for anything tell me, I'll figure out something."
Because it was too easy to lose people, sometimes no more than a blink.
He paused, then smiled, the same way he'd had at every one of Pip's wild ideas or self-indulgent proclamations of his big plans that he always believed Pip would make happen, somehow. The same way he probably always would.
"That city better appreciate it's getting you," Hiro added, then the smile shifted to a laugh, an old conversation, the nostalgia of it. "I'm expecting infomercial famous."
Because wasn't that the height of success? Or it had been, once upon a time in a conversation over coffee years ago that had given Hiro something he hadn't expected; his first big lovesick crush, yes, but also his first friend after his world had fallen apart.
Infomercial famous, to Pip, was a bit of an insult actually. Sure, SOME big celebrities ended up booking infomercials, but Pip could think of way more cases of people who became famous just BECAUSE they were in some kind of infomercial that popped off. Which, don't get him wrong, he that there was something very charming about that particular viralty-- like a bygone product of the TV era. Considering streaming and all that, did people even watch infomercials anymore? Did companies even waste their money??
This was a tangent though. Even if infomercials were a thing, Pip's ambitions stretched far beyond them.
He wanted to become, like, Jimmy Kimmel famous.
He wanted to have a talk show. He wanted to host the Oscars. He wanted to go on a stupid reality TV show and have his clips go viral, actually viral. He wanted to make merch after dumb shit he said. He wanted to win awards. He wanted his face on a billboard.
He assumed Hiro was pulling his leg with the infomercial thing-- and so in true spirit, Pip snorted and laughed.
"Oh my god, what, are you trying to curse me? No infomercials for me, thank you! If I have to do ads, I'll be like, a super cute Instagram influencer or make viral Tiktoks! I have standards!"
Then Pip grinned. He reached over and squeezed Hiro's hand again.
"But hey-- thank you. Seriously, I feel so much better knowing I have people as smart as you who believe me. Let's definitely keep in touch, Hiro. I need to have your big weird brain to pick when disaster strikes."
Milo only looked up again when Pip spoke up - the words a sudden break in the thoughts that had started to pile up in his mind, like he could take back all of the personal feelings that he'd let slip. Yet, the strange looks he'd expected to find staring back at him were instead only teary-eyed smiles as Pip stumbled through his own question.
One that Milo honestly hadn't thought he'd ask. He hadn't seemed terribly confident about it, after all - but Milo could only feel his own smile growing at the fact he did decide to do so in the end too.
There was a small surprised noise that slipped from Milo's lips as Amy pulled them both into a hug - his arms easily wrapping both around her frame and Pip's as well, though his chin easily came to rest on top of Amy's head from the height difference alone.
Somehow - there was a small part of Milo that had expected a no. Amy had been through a lot in life. It would make sense if taking on children (or.. in this case, adults) to adopt would just be too much of a handful to handle! If she didn't want the official responsibility or... if maybe she secretly was just hoping once Milo left she'd be rid of him.
It was a completely ridiculous thought to have though. Milo knew that. This was Amy. The very Amy who had warmly welcomed him into their home even without a thought of who he was. Amy, who had baked him special birthday cakes every year. The one who'd taken him to every doctor's appointment, and held his hand in the waiting room, the office, the recovery room. Who told him first about her health concerns.
It was also the same woman he watched in the kitchen, trying to learn a thing or two about baking. The one he'd end up curling up with on the couch to watch bad reality TV with after a long day. It was her bedroom Milo would find himself slipping into whenever a thunderstorm startled him out of his sleep - and naturally, it was Amy he found himself turning to for advice he wasn't sure Pip, Luca or his other friends could give.
She might not be his eomma, but... yang-eomeoni? It would be an honor that only someone like Amy could have, wasn't it?
His fingers tightened gently in the fabric of Pip's shirt, squeezing his arm in a supportive gesture as he did his best to blink away the warmth behind his own eyes, regardless of the fact he was failing miserably. "...you'd really want to do that?" Milo couldn't help but ask quietly, as if just to make sure. That.. somehow he hadn't misunderstood. Or that this wasn't some dream he hadn't woken up from.
Amy squeezed the two of them tight, even as she struggled to fit her arms around them both-- Milo especially, considering his size. But that didn't matter. Amy was the kind of person who could make you feel seen and loved with a smile from across the room. She'd always made Pip feel that way. In his darkest moments, when he felt completely broken and completely undeserving of love, and like the world would forget him-- a tiny thought always glimmered in the back of his mind that none of that applied to Amy.
For better or worse, Amy Seville was going to be there for him.
He sniffled against her arm and shoved his face against her shoulder, embarrassed of his tears but hey, it wasn't like this was the first (or second) (or last) time he cried on Amy's shoulder! Then, Amy laughed a wet laugh and pulled away, but only so she could wipe away Pip's tears with one hand, and Milo's tears with another.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Of course!" said Amy. Her hands dropped to their shoulders, giving a squeeze. " I-- I feel like the luckiest woman in the whole world, you know? I thought-- I thought I was the type of person who was going to end up all alone." She shrugged a little sheepishly, her eyes glittering with her tears. "I, I didn't wanna get married, and I couldn't see myself having my own kids but-- because of you both--"
Amy cupped Pip's cheek. His lip wobbled. She did the same with Milo.
The thought came almost mirrored to Amy's voice - his gaze snapping back to Pip as he stared at him with an almost owlish look. As if perhaps he'd forgotten the entire gameplan he'd just talked about upstairs. Still, the nudge seemed to stir something back into place as he opened his mouth to speak, (still hesitating once, twice). "Oh- uhm... right, right. Celebrate. Uhm..." He trailed off, swallowing those nerves again as he felt himself nearly grimace.
It really wasn't that hard to ask.... right? What was the worst case scenario? She did say no? Then what - he just jets off to another country in a matter of days and it wouldn't matter anyways!! Now was actually the perfect time to do something terribly vulnerable and embarrassing.
"I uh---... It's really-... It's kind of-..." Milo stumbled, finally letting his shoulders drop a bit with a sigh as he glanced back at Amy, feeling incredibly small despite his 6-foot-something stature. "....I really love you guys." Milo admitted easily, the words quiet but earnest. "...and I really loved my parents... - but sometimes I think I didn't know what it was really supposed to feel like to have people that love and support you for who you are until I met you and Pip. And I've really struggled with being... myself since I turned back, but I've never felt as safe as I do here, with you. You guys are my family - and... when I think about who I am... I just feel like I'm, you know.. a Seville. Or at least,.. I want to be..." Milo trailed off, shifting slightly in his spot as he raised his free hand to scratch at his cheek - unable to keep his gaze from slipping back down to the counter.
"...So I-... I was just wondering if uhm... - maybe I could be. Officially. If.... if you'd be my legal guardian."
Everything Milo said felt like it came right from Pip's heart instead. Like his strange adoptive brother had read his mind-- no, that wasn't quite right... like he'd somehow burrowed deep into Pip's unconscious and found the things that Pip had hidden away even from himself. He couldn't let himself want those things. Or even think of them.
But now here they were:
Sometimes I think I didn't know what it was really supposed to feel like to have people who love and support you for who you are until I met you.
Yeah. Yeah, that was exactly how it felt, being raised by Amy.
I've never felt as safe as I do here, with you.
Yeah.
Pip hadn't thought he was going to cry. But tears welled up in his eyes, and his chest hurt, like he'd been physically shot. It was like realizing for the first time what it meant to move away from Swynlake. He'd miss a lot of people, sure. But he'd really, really, really miss Amy.
Before he knew what he was doing--
"Me too!" Pip blurted.
Milo's evil plan had worked.
"I-- I mean, I-- also want to be a Seville. Officially. Legally," Pip stuttered, blushing. "Unless that is like, obviously too big a burden--"
"It's a GIFT!" Amy exploded. He'd bee so wrapped up in his own emotional turmoil that he hadn't even registered that Amy had started to smile and cry all at the same time. But now, she rushed over to both Pip and Milo, blubbering. "Are you kidding?! You boys, c'mere! Oh my god, I don't deserve the two of you!"
Amy's arms stretched around Pip and Milo, drawing them in. She cried a little harder. "I'd love to adopt you guys!"
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