☙ UNDERTAKERXSONNY.
Sonny felt as thought he had rung in the new year with the knell of a funeral chime. Much to his mother’s chagrin, he had not returned to New York that Christmas. They had fought about it, but he knew that if he stepped foot on that plane, he would not have returned. And as tempting as the prospect was, he would not abandon his uncle. Not after so long. And so, he had spent his time locked in the old man’s dust-filled office, sorting through financial paperwork, bills, and records dating back at least thirty years.
But the holidays had passed in a strange, unknowable blur, a maelstrom wrapped in tinsel and the dying glow of blinking lights. But beyond one or two journeys outward, Sonny had seen no one, spoken to no one. Hell, he had not even ventured to mass. Which meant Ricky O’Riley had to go on as Joseph, which was fucking ridiculous because who had ever heard of a ginger Joseph?
Lost in these scattered fragments of memory, Sonny himself had arrived at Bryce’s door unannounced, wrapped in a winter coat and heavy with the sleeplessness of the past weeks. But he saw her everywhere, in the water of the bathtub, reflected in mirrors, and in the crack returning again to his bedroom ceiling, stretching over his head like the roots of some strangling Sequoia.
“I…uh, I came to say goodbye. My uncle’s gonna enjoy his retirement. And I’m gonna, well, I’m gonna go home,” he offered hoarsely, lingering outside. He paused. “,…She tried to kill me, man. Maybe you know. People are talking. ‘Bout how I tried to drown myself in Northwood Lake. But I got to go.”
if there was anyone who could UNDERSTAND the look in the other man’s eyes and what he had been going through lately it was the irishman. in truth , it had taken him all of november and most of the holiday season before he’d even been able to LEAVE his home and still had remained quite the hermit into the new year. his irish christmas had been a lonely one and he wouldn’t be spotted wandering around town BELTING out ‘ nollalg shona duit ‘ at anyone he crossed paths during decemeber like every year since he moved to pleasance. luckily for him , his four legged companions had kept him company and out of the MENTALLER zone for the most part. the sound of someone knocking on his door was surprising enough these days , but when bryce opened his front door the LAST person he expected to see was sonny colasurdo and it was likely obvious by the look on his face. despite multiple attempts on his part since coming out of hiding he hadn’t been able to get in contact with the other since all the RUMORS began , his uncle doing a good job of getting rid of bryce each time he showed up to call on sonny.
the irishman drags honey brown hues over his DISHEVELED , frazzled friend lingering like a ghost of who he once was haunting the snowy front porch. unfortunately , bryce knew all too well the look and feel of INSOMNIA that seemed to have transformed his friend in such a short time ― it found a way to seep into your very being only to leave you feeling like a husk of who you once were. there was a part of the man that was RELIEVED to finally lay eyes on sonny and know he was alive , but after seeing the state he was in and hearing what he had to say made the irishman’s WALLS go up immediately.
bryce clears his throat as he crosses arms over a BROAD chest , dropping his gaze to ridley and scott who were bouncing around in the doorway at his feet yipping excitedly at the familiar man as if to INVITE him inside. after a brief moment of silence on the irishman’s part he finally moves out of the doorway to usher the copper dogs out of the other’s way , “ come in , mate. i can assure ye she isn’t here now , TRUST me i kept waitin’ fer her to show up too ― sumtimes i think maybe i still am. “ the dark-haired man throws another look over his shoulder at sonny , “ ye look like ye could use a STIFF drink. can i make ye summit ? “ it wasn’t uncommon for him to offer his friends a drink when they visited , but after seeing how upset his friend seemed and the sudden DEPARTURE he wasn’t content to have this conversation the way it seemed to be panning out so far.
the irishman sort of lolls his head to the side as he keeps a hold on his two EXCITED viszlas , “ i promise i won’t let anythin’ happen t’either of us here. i’ve just been tryin’ to see ye since. . well , everything that they say happened to ye but i think uncle nick HATES me. “ bryce drops his dark eyes back down to the dogs as he tries to cope with the thought of someone else DISAPPEARING from his life , but he’d grown accustomed to this. he sighs softly as he looks back at sonny , “ i’d just like to understand what happened to ye , s’all. i can’t blame ye fer wantin’ to go home. FECK , i thought about leavin’ meself for a bit , but. . dismissed that idea pretty quickly. “ there were several reasons he never actually tried to leave , but the biggest of all was his FEAR of finding out he couldn’t if he truly did want to and not to mention there was nowhere for him to go home to. pleasance was his new place to be from or it was supposed to be , deep down he couldn’t face running from another place he considered HOME.
