A platonic fic of Dusekkar being a sort of father figure to Taph, and helping them as they panic during a post forsaken meet up.
Tagged characters have dialog, the others all show up too but are mostly background.
Pale brown leaves littered the clearing of the forest.
Tall, arching trees now half barren, their branches clearly seen as the leaves that once decorated them now fell to the forest floor.
The cabin in the center of the clearing sat defiantly, not a leaf on the roof nor the gutter pipe, having been cleaned methodically mere hours prior.
Dusekkar sat upon a single chair on the porch, watching the afternoon breeze stir up a whirlwind of leaves in a quiet clatter as they were sent flying.
Perhaps the fact that The Specter’s realm was a near constant default of summer was the reason, everything made a pale, dead green, lacking the warmth that season would usually bring. Either way, Dusekkar found himself preferring the bright orange, red, and yellow of fall.
Winter was nice as well, shimmering white and blues similar to their own palette of their head and robes, but the snow could often be a hassle to deal with.
Winter also seemed to make a lot of Robloxian’s frustrated, likely since it was very cold. Dusekkar however, was not a regular Robloxian, so the cold didn’t quite bother him. He simply took others' words that it was extremely unpleasant. Shedletsky in particular seemed to really hate it, and Dusekkar trusted him.
Glancing out to the sky, they took note of the position of the sun, estimating the time. Later than noon, not quite as late as say 4pm though.
They stood from their chair, feet barely brushing the ground as they levitated back into their cabin.
Today was special, for a multitude of reasons.
For one, it had been exactly one month since they had all escaped The Specter’s realm.
For second, Elliot had contacted them all regarding a celebration of this occasion with a day at the pizzeria, on the house, just the group. The pizzeria was technically closed for renovations that day, so no one else would be there except the owner, Elliot’s father.
And for third, most of their past killers had recovered enough to attend. Only three would willingly come, and two of them were children, but it was still an improvement.
Grabbing a slightly nicer set of robes, these ones a light shade of blue and grey-white, he changed into them and grabbed his staff from beside the door. He didn’t quite need the staff, but it felt reassuring to know he could protect the others on the very, very rare (he made the calculations) chance something happens.
It also was fun to twirl and spin around, but no one needed to know that.
Throwing on a white scarf to look more natural for the slight chill of the afternoon air, he shut off all the lights and closed the door, not bothering to lock it. His spells protected his home plenty. With both a seal on the door, the foundation, and an apparition spell hiding the path to the house, he felt confident leaving it unlocked.
Heading up the long, winding path leading from the woods back towards the city, they idly thought.
They hadn’t seen most of the survivors in about a week, when they had their last meeting, as they’d been quite busy restating spells around the capital city and the headquarters.
They saw the other admins often, being they work together. Shedletsky liked to go out of his way to mess with Dusekkar as well, being bored with his still severe wing injury preventing him from doing laborious tasks. Builderman was mostly passing nods and brief conversations, the man being absurdly busy trying to manage the chaos that came with his disappearance.
Who he hadn't seen much, however, was Taph.
The demolitionist had gone radio silent for a couple weeks, showing up to HQ quietly and leaving once their work was finished, barely conversing.
This worried Dusekkar, as he knew Taph can often get lost in their own mind, worrying and fretting over everything, he’s pretty sure they have anxiety at the least.
He had also heard that Taph was living in an apartment, which was odd. Before being taken by The Specter, Dusekkar knew Taph had a house, so he wondered what had happened. When he went to check where it once was, it had been completely removed, not even the foundation remained.
Dusekkar did recall a rise in protesters and riots briefly before he was taken though, so he had a feeling they had something to do with it.
He had offered Taph a place in his own home, no rent or anything needed, but the demolitionist had declined. Dusekkar had told him their door was always open to him if he changed his mind.
Dusekkar quietly hoped the other would change their mind, as from what they’ve heard, Taph’s apartment complex was poorly managed.
As the trees began to part and the city came into view, Dusekkar checked the street signs, mentally mapping out the way to the pizzeria. They’d never gone, but the directions were engraved into memory.
Floating along the sidewalk, he moved slightly quicker than necessary. He knew he could easily be recognized, but he didn’t want to be late, so he’d have to ignore anyone who came up.
Multiple Robloxians tried to approach, some even shouting from across the street, Dusekkar giving polite but hurried waves as he continued, not looking back. Most gave up after realizing he had no interest in conversing.
It wasn’t too long, only a few blocks as the pizzeria sat along the west side of the city, close to the forest.
The bright red building came into view, the tall sign with the logo stood high above the other buildings. The parking lot had five cars parked at random intervals, some lined up, some all the way across the lot.
Approaching the door, he could see the lights on and the warmth radiating from the building, along with some figures sat at a far table.
Opening the door, a high pitched chime came from a speaker above the door; a recorded sound of a bell. He leaned down just before his antlers got caught on the doorway, a practiced motion.
Across the room, multiple heads looked up, all seated at a large table with a couple baskets of unseen foods scattered across the table. He saw most of the survivors, save for two, and the two children, former killers.
Shedletsky stood first, grinning as Dusekkar levitated over, who’d smile back if only his pumpkin could change expression. The man was wearing a light grey hoodie and long blue sweatpants, likely due to the cold.
“Matt! About time you showed up, you’re, uhh…” Shedletsky trailed off, looking up at a clock on the wall. “Three minutes late!”
“I apologize, I had lost track of time,” Dusekkar responded, shrugging. “I do not own a clock, that I may call mine.”
Shedletsky groaned in faux annoyance, heading back to the table as Dusekkar followed. “Forgot you don’t use clocks, you just can always know what the time is.”
Builderman smacked the admin on the shoulder, making the man give an offended huff. “You be quiet, you wouldn’t of made it on time either if I wasn’t telling ya it was time ta go.”
Dusekkar took a seat beside Shedletsky, who was seated beside Builderman. The CEO nodded at Dusekkar in greeting, who returned it. Builderman was wearing his usual grey hoodie and jeans, but had zipped it up now. He didn’t bring his hardhat today it seems.
Looking around, Dusekkar saw Guest 1337 sitting beside Two Time, no doubt keeping an eye on the cultist, due to their chance to have rather…violent episodes ever since they all escaped. Chance sat on the other side of Two Time, holding a handful of cards and attempting to teach them something.
Guest wore a camo jacket and jeans, while Two Time was in a light blue sweater and black pants. Chance was in a light dress shirt, but wore a thick furred scarf, no doubt very expensive. He also had pricey looking dress pants.
On the other side of the table, 007n7 sat wearing a hoodie, looking exhausted, but smiling, as he talked with 11808, who was in a thinner jacker. Dusekkar had only met the woman recently, turned out she was the mother of one of the child killers, Bluudud, and had become close with 007n7 after their children became close friends.
The children in question were sat in a booth seat right next to the table, both wearing t shirts with what looked to be thick jackets tossed over the back of their booth. Bluudud playing with what looked to be robotic figurines. Coolkid had a stuffed animal clutched to his chest as he talked.
To Dusekkar’s left, Taph sat in plain black robes, rather than his usual black and gold. He was fidgeting with his hands, which lacked gloves this time, but waved at Dusekkar when he looked over.
Dusekkar waved back, setting his staff down beneath his seat to free his hands, and began to sign.
“Where is Elliot and Noob?” Dusekkar asked. One perk of using sign language was he didn’t feel the pull to use rhymes, allowing him to speak much more clearly.
“Elliot is making pizzas for us.” Taph responded, pausing for a moment before continuing “Noob isn’t here yet. No John yet.”
Dusekkar nodded, glancing back at the front doors. John Doe was the other killer who agreed to come besides the two children, which made sense. Prior to The Specter, from what the admins could all gather, John was a normal middle aged man who worked at an office. He had been wholly corrupted by parasitic code, and once that was removed, he was just a normal man once again.
Taph reached forward at the table, trying to reach one of the baskets of food, but they were on the far end. They slumped back in defeat. Dusekkar picked up his staff to poke Builderman, who looked up, and gestured to the basket. Builderman passed it down.
Taph signed a quick “Thank You.” and reached into the basket, pulling out a breadstick, then faced downward as they pulled their fabric mask down to eat, hiding their face.
Across the table, Dusekkar watched as Chance splayed out a deck of cards to hand some to Guest and Two Time, apparently having set up a game now, and putting a breadstick between the three. Likely gambling it.
Shedletsky snorted beside Dusekkar, having also noticed the game, causing Chance to sputter.
“What?! Would you rather I use actual money? I’m too rich, I’d just put these two in debt.” He defended, making Guest narrow his eyes in offense. Two Time didn’t react, instead looking at their handful of cards in deep concentration.
Shedletsky shook his head, still laughing, but didn’t comment further. Chance grumbled, playing a card smugly and starting their game.
Behind them, the prerecorded bell chimed again, and the admin turned to see the glass door being held open by a woman Dusekkar hadn’t seen before.
She had dark purple hair and wore a nice dress shirt, a large hat on her head as well. She didn’t even look at the people inside, instead focused on two approaching figures Dusekkar now spotted.
The first to walk in was none other then John Doe, who was looking better than when Dusekkar last saw the man.
He looked well rested, and walked with more stride, obviously in less pain than last he saw him. His missing arm was obvious, especially with the yellow sweater he wore having one sleeve tied together. The thick bandaging over the right side of his face was now just a square patch of fabric over where his eye used to be.
He smiled at the woman, thanking her, before turning and moving out of the way to allow someone else in.
Noob walked in finally, nervously nodding at John. Dusekkar didn’t blame them, they were still really scared of the killers even if reformed.
Noob wore their usual blue sweater, along with green pants, but they walked awkwardly, having a bit of a gait. This was due to the fact they had to get their leg amputated after escaping The Specter when the cabin collapsed onto everyone, crushing Noob’s leg. They’d been given a state of the art prosthetic, but it’d take much longer than a month for anyone to get used to it.
Dusekkar heard from Builderman a few weeks prior that John was also offered a prosthetic arm, but the man had denied it. Said he was already so used to the lack of a second arm he couldn’t even remember what it was like to have both, likely due to the parasite in his mind, and would rather not go through the hassle.
The trio stepped inside, the door closing behind them all. The table would be quite crowded with the extra guest, but it’d be fine. They could always add another table.
Noob waved at the group, earning several greetings back as they sat in one of the vacant seats, next to 007n7.
“Hey, the leg workin’ out well?” Builderman asked, leaning forward to see Noob over the hackers beside them. Noob nodded, smiling, kicking their leg under the table for emphasis.
Cards were tossed suddenly, and Dusekkar looked over to see Chance making vague hand gestures, mouth agape, staring at what was apparently Two Time winning their card game. Guest was laughing, as Two Time swiped the breadstick from their game and shoved it in their mouth in victory.
John and the woman approached next, having had to grab a couple chairs as there had been none left at the table, sitting in the gap between Dusekkar and Shedletsky.
A few others looked confused, seemingly not knowing the woman either. Shedletsky coughed loudly, looking towards Builderman.
“Huh- Oh, right, forgot ta mention but John brought his wife, this is Jane Doe.” Builderman introduced, gesturing towards her, who smiled and nodded, earning several more greetings. And a very excited sounding yell of “JOHN??” from behind them all.
Dusekkar looked over, curious, and saw that the red imp had practically leaped out of his booth, leaving a confused Bluudud, and had ran around the table to John’s side, ignoring 007n7’s yelp to not run.
The child bumped into Dusekkar on the way, though the admin didn’t notice, instead watching in amusement as the boy slam into John’s side and attempt to hug him.
“Oof, hey kiddo, didn’t think you'd miss me this much!” John laughed, “Can’t hug ya from that side though, no arm, remember?”
Coolkid blinked, now noticing the missing arm, and skirted around to the other side of his chair, resuming the hug, allowing John to reciprocate.
Jane semed to also find this amusing, as she laughed quietly, watching the scene with a fondness Dusekkar could easily recognize. The rest of the group resumed their conversating, and another card game was already being set up, with Chance now passing cards to everyone at the table, although 007n7, 11808, Taph, John, and Jane declined.
Noob attempted to decline as well, but when Chance pulled out a Bloxy Cola from who knows where and put it on the bet, Noob quickly agreed. Dusekkar squinted in slight judgement at the gambler fueling Noob’s addiction.
This time, three breadsticks were put on the line, alongside the cola, and everyone played along as if it were actual money (Shedletsky had attempted to use actual money, but Dusekkar shut it down quickly.)
Coolkid, now sat with 007n7, as the boy could never be physically away from him for too long lest he panic, seemed very interested in the card match. Bluudud had sat beside his mother, but was more entertained by his figurines.
Dueskkar had tuned out a majority of the game, simply playing the perfect move at his turn and moving along, he’s very wise after all, and observing the others.
Specifically, observing Taph.
The demolitionist had been very quiet, not signing much at all to the others, and staring down at the table for a while.
Dusekkar had a strong feeling something was wrong, something bothering them, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
He kept Taph’s behaviour in mind, but didn’t act on anything for now.
With a loud shout, Shedletsky slammed a pair of cards down, calling victory, but Two Time had quickly thrown their own cards down, preventing the man’s win. The two glared at one another, considering, while Builderman groaned and pinched his nose bridge in annoyance at his fellow admin.
Eventually, Two Time set down another card, winning yet again, causing Shedletsky to let out a distraught sigh, admitting defeat.
Swiping all three Breadsticks akin to a hoarding animal, Two Time began eating one, smiling as usual, although it seemed more smug. They took one look at the cola and grimaced, looking around, than handing it to Noob.
“These taste quite revolting, you can have it. I believe you have an addiction, no?” Two Time said bluntly.
Noob frowned, “Not an addiction, I just, uhm, really really like them. I think. That’s all.” They denied, already cracking open the lid to take a sip.
“Do not deny it, there is no confliction. What you have, is certainly an addiction.” Dusekkar quickly pointed out, making Noob look away quickly and causing Shedletsky to start laughing again.
Behind Dusekkar, he heard a ruckus and a muffled curse, and as he looked back towards the cash registers, he saw two people walk out from the kitchen around a corner, both in red uniform.
One was obviously Elliot, his outfit nearly the same as the one from The Specter’s realm after all, and he held four pizza boxes in one hand, and a large basket in the other.
The second figure was an older man, his uniform slightly different than Elliot’s, with a nametag and no visor, instead wearing a hardhat similar to the one Builderman usually wore. He had a mustache, and was holding multiple cup holders, carrying about eight drinks in total.
Walking over, multiple other heads turned, and Coolkid shouted “PIZZA!” when he noticed as well.
Chance quickly gathered their cards, everyone handing their deck back to the gambler as they reshuffled the cards and put them back with practiced movements.
Two Time had apparently given their other two breadsticks to Guest, who had put them down in front of himself, not eating either.
Elliot set the pizza boxes down once the table was cleared, setting each beside each other in the center, then the basket in the middle, which apparently had mozzarella sticks in it, and a lot of them.
“Okay, we got pepperoni, meat lovers, garlic chicken, aaand the supreme,” Elliot explained, opening each pizza box in question as he went, before turning to narrow his eyes at Shedletsky. “And the mountain of mozzarella sticks you wanted.”
Shedletsky put his hands up defensively, grinning, “What? Everyone loves mozzarella sticks.”
A couple survivors nodded in agreement, causing Elliot to groan. The other man set down the various drinks, handing them to specific people, likely orders.
Now that the man was closer, Dusekkar instantly recognized him, and was not surpised when he handed Builderman his drink, he also smacked the back of the CEO’s head.
“Didn’t even come ‘round back to say hi ta yer own brother? I’m hurt.” Mr. Builder teased, making Builderman shake his head quickly.
“Hey, I didn’t even know you were here! No one told me,” He defended, giving Elliot a pointed look, who just shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t know he was here either until he just started cooking with me.”
“So this was yer lil team? You all look like a miserable bunch.” Mr.Builder commented, causing Shedletsky and Chance to gasp in sync, then turn to each other in surprise.
“We’re a lot less miserable now that we’re free.” Elliot grumbled, grabbing a chair and pulling it up to the table to join the group. Noob nodded in agreement.
“Speaking of, which one of ya is that Guest fellow?” Mr.Builder asked, causing Guest to point at himself, looking mildly confused.
Mr.Builder walked over to the man, clapping a hand on Guest’s shoulder and nodding. “Heard ya helped out the group a lot in a pinch, especially my son here, so I’d like ta thank you personally.” He explained, offering a hand, which Guest smiled and shook.
“It was the least I could do when we were all trapped there, I am a soldier for a reason.” Guest said. It was true that he bodyguarded Elliot a lot, mainly due to killers targeting him, as he was their healer.
Elliot looked slightly embarrassed, but made no comment. Chance spoke up, “Hey, we helped too! I had a gun!”
Mr.Builder squinted at Chance. “I heard that gun blew up in yer face half the time.”
Chance went quiet again, arms crossed and grumbling.
Mr.Builder looked around the table again, eyes widening. “Oh, I didn’t even notice more of ya showed up, shit, what ya’ll want to drink?”
Noob looked at their now empty bloxy cola, debating. Dusekkar coughed slightly, getting their attention, and shook his head. Noob frowned, but ordered water.
John thought it over for a bit, having trouble, before asking Jane in a whisper what he usually had. The two ordered tea.
When Mr.Builder turned to Dusekkar, they merely shook their head. “I will not have a drink, there is no need. I am not like the others, you see.” They pointed to their pumpkin head, with the lack of movement from their carved features, and the man seemed to understand, as he left to grab the drinks.
The others reached towards the multiple pizza boxes, grabbing their respective slices of choice. Shedletsky immediately went for the mozzarella sticks, along with Coolkid, which 007n7 stopped before the child could grab four, instead letting him have two. He gave one to Bluudud.
Two Time had taken a single slice of pepperoni, looking at the other options with uncertainty. From what Dusekkar knew, the cultist had never even had pizza before Elliot gave them in the realm, so it was understandable they’d be reluctant of the other flavors.
Dusekkar glanced to his left, seeing which Taph would go for, but found her to be fidgeting with her hands again, shaking slightly now, as they stared down at the table cloth.
Worried, he nudged their arm slightly, causing them to jump and look over at him.
“What’s wrong?” Dusekkar signed, watching as Taph fumbled with their hands before beginning to sign quickly.
“Nothing. No need to worry. It’s dumb.” If Dusekkar could raise a brow, they would, but instead they tilted their head.
“It’s clearly something, it’s not dumb. Tell Please.” He responded, making the demolitionist pause, slowly turning to look at the group, then at the interior of the building, than back at Dusekkar.
Shakily, she signed again, missing a few pronunciations, but Dusekkar understood. “Same building as when we were trapped. All in one area together. No danger, still worried.”
Dusekkar nodded, looking around as well. It was true, that in The Specter’s realm, one of the maps they had was a broken down version of the pizzeria. Being in here with all the survivors in one place likely set Taph off, bad memories lingering.
It probably didn’t help that former killers, no matter how reformed, were here as well.
Turning back to Taph, Dusekkar asked simply, “Would you like to go?”
Immediately, Taph shook his head, “No. I worry for nothing. It’s fine.”
Dusekkar disagreed, but relented, instead offering a hand calmly. Taph stared at it, than took the invitation and held it, hand shaking.
Turning back to the group, Dusekkar focused on how every other survivor was doing, idly holding the demolitionists hand. This wasn’t new, oftentimes Taph would be afraid and Dusekkar would do their best to comfort him in the realm, sometimes Noob too.
The others didn’t seem to be a fan of this method, but he had several other ways to make sure the others were comfortable and confident. Builderman and Shedletsky had started calling Dusekkar “The Pumpkin Guru” as a joke due to this behavior. Shedletsky sometimes called him a group dad as well.
Dusekkar disagreed, it was simply caring for his team and using whatever was left of his magic to reassure them, but whatever they wanted to call him he didn’t mind.
Looking around the table, Dusekkar watched as Chance attempted to get Elliot to eat some strange looking pizza, which looked like the toppings picked off of one slice thrown on a different one. Elliot looked offended.
At some point Mr.Builder had dropped off John and Jane’s tea apparently, as the two were sipping from mugs and chatting, John had a slice in hand, Jane had none.
He also saw 007n7 and 11808 talking about something in deep focus, showing each other their phones, and in their distraction, Coolkid was grabbing handfuls of mozzarella sticks.
Dusekkar debated snitching, but Elliot beat him to it, letting out a sharp “HEY!” and causing the child to immediately abandon his heist and hide behind his fathers chair, peeking out with a guilty expression.
The group seemed in high spirits, nothing wrong, hopefully this could reassure Taph somewhat.
Except it seemed Dusekkar had jinxed it, as at that moment someone accidentally dropped their cup, which slammed against the floor loudly, thankfully being plastic and not breaking. He felt Taph squeeze his hand in surprise.
However, it seemed to startle Two Time, as they jumped in their seat, clattering against the table and causing a pattern of one of the mugs John and Jane had to fall and shatter, much louder than the last cup, which increased the cultists panic; Dusekkar wasn’t sure what they did, but he saw them reaching for their side, likely where they kept their dagger.
Before they could grab it, Guest was quick enough to grab their wrists and get their attention, the soldier doing his best to calm the now panicked Two Time.
This time luckily, it was only a small scare, as they blinked quickly, looking around and breathing heavily, but didn’t push Guest away. The rest of the table had quieted to soft voices, no one daring to speak loudly in case it would cause further panic, but knowing they also shouldn’t go silent, it’d just embarrass the cultist, who already felt immensely guilty for these panics.
The only ones who seemed confused were Coolkid and John and Jane, as they likely didn’t know much about these moments.
007n7 seemed to be explaining to Coolkid, while John and Jane didn’t say anything, being polite.
Once the scare calmed, Dusekkar looked back to Taph, worried, and had his suspicions confirmed, as she was sitting stiff as a board, shaking slightly. Their grip on his hand like iron.
Squeezing their hand back to get their attention, Dusekkar gestured to the doors behind them, head tilted in question.
Taph hesitated, looking at the group, but nodded slowly, looking away.
Dusekkar nodded back, turning to the group, waiting a few minutes for Two Time to calm down; he didn’t want to announce their departure immediately, Two Time would definitely catch on to it being from them, and they’d feel responsible.
After the chatter of the table returned, and Two Time had now laid their head down in their arms, Dusekkar stood and grabbed his staff and floated over to Builderman, letting Taph stay behind.
“We must bid farewell, for Taph does not feel well.” He explained simply, Builderman looking up at him with a worried expression.
“Is he alright? Sick?” Builderman asked, causing Shedletsky to also look up, than to Taph.
“It is not my place to say, I hope you all have a good day.” Dusekkar said, already retreating, ready to hurry home with the demolitionist.
Taph had already stood, looking back at the group, before Dusekkar went up to them and offered an arm, which they grabbed with shaky hands.
Giving a parting wave to the slightly confused group, they both left out the door, the cold fall air already hitting the two. The sun had already begun to lower, it was likely around six.
Taph looked down the streets, but Dusekkar led them towards the edge of town.
“We will go to my home, where it is safe. If you recall, I had offered it to be your space.” Dusekkar recalled, to which Taph nodded, staring at the dense woods they approached.
Twirling his staff and mumbling a spell, he revealed the pathway into the woods, levitating forwards as Taph signed, which was a bit tricky with their arms intertwined.
“I didn’t know you could do that.” They commented, hands shaking still, but the signing was more clear this time.
“I can do a lot with my magic returned to me.” Dusekkar replied.
They traversed in silence, only the distant bird and swaying of leaves filling the background. Listening, Dusekkar could hear Taph’s breaths slowing down, shaking less, as they calmed.
It was a short walk, but soon the house and the clearing revealed itself, and Dusekkar cast yet another spell to cancel the protection spell on the door as they approached. Taph couldn’t see the barrier, so they likely were confused, but Dusekkar didn’t elaborate.
Opening the door, they flicked the lights on, which were rather dull, giving the place an overall soft lighting.
Dropping his staff by the door, they untangled their arms to sign better. He preferred to sign when alone with Taph, as constant rhyming exhausted even him.
“Tea or water?” He asked, already entering the kitchen, Taph following slowly. “Water.” They answered.
Nodding, He grabbed a plastic cup, this one less thick than the restaurant ones, so if it were to fall it’d be much quieter. Filling it halfway with a pitcher of water, he handed it to Taph, who took it with shaking hands, pulling down their mask to sip.
Gently, Dusekkar set a hand on his back, nudging him to the living room, which was neatly cleaned, and had him sit down. Dusekkar than sat beside him, offering a hand again. Taph took it.
Pointing at a radio on a side table, Dusekkar tilted their head in question. Taph nodded. He reached over and pressed a button, pulling up the antenna and turning the dial, setting the volume low.
Sighing, Taph set down their cup and leaned back against the couch, practically melting into it.
Whenever in the realm, and Taph was overwhelmed, Dusekkar would invite the demolitionist to his room, allowing the two to sit and listen to a radio. Dusekkar never asked questions, Taph never explained, and it was just what they needed. Dusekkar would simply offer a hand, a shoulder to lean on, and it was enough.
The difference here however was that Dusekkar’s house was cold. Very cold.
Dusekkar knew this, so when he was sure Taph was situated, he stood and went down the hall to a closet, rummaging through to pull out a thick weighted blanket.
Bringing it back, he sat back down, seeing Taph look at the blanket curiously, and spread it out before laying it overtop both their laps.
“Don’t you not feel cold?” Taph asked, confused. Dusekkar responded, “I do not. But I also do not feel hot, so this is comfortable.”
Taph seemed to agree, as they hiked up the blanket to their shoulders, looking quite relaxed for someone who’s face Dusekkar couldn’t even see.
They listened to the music for a while, until a lull in the channel gave way to a commercial, giving Dusekkar an opportunity to speak.
“I know I do not usually speak, when you seek me for peace,” He started, causing Taph to turn to him. “But I do have something to say, If I may.”
Taph nodded slowly, confused, but nonetheless curious.
“I know you have fears, I know you doubt if you’re safe. But I hope you know, this may always be your place.” Dusekkar said, gesturing to the room around them.
He continued, “I know you’ve declined, for you already have a home, but I hope you know, I offer mine as your own.”
Taph was quiet, hands not moving beneath the blanket.
“I worry for you, and I care for you, but I will not push you.” Dusekkar said, turning to look at Taph as well. “The realm was harsh on us all, and I do not wish for you to fall. So instead, I offer to you, and simply hope you may see it through.”
Dusekkar went quiet, finishing his speel, and analyzed Taph for their reaction as best he could. He hoped he wasn’t pushy, but in his months of observation and time with Taph, he didn’t think it’d be healthy for them to be all alone.
Taph seemed to think it over for a while, staring down at the blanket, before shuddering and leaning over, their head falling onto Dusekkar’s shoulder as they shook, breathing uneven.
They were crying. Dusekkar panicked for a moment, thinking he’d said the complete wrong things, analyzed the situation incorrectly perhaps.
But Taph didn’t seem upset, in fact they were holding Dusekkar’s hand in a death grip now, and Dusekkar responded by wrapping an arm around their back, holding the demolitionist as they quietly cried.
The music from the radio was comical by now; an upbeat jazzy tune as Dusekkar held Taph through their tears.
Shakily, Taph shoved the blanket away, than let go of Dusekkar’s hands to sloppily sign.
“I want to stay.” she admitted, “I didn’t want to burden you.”
Dusekkar shook his head, speaking rather than signing, as Taph probably couldn't see clearly through her tears. “You could not burden me if you tried, I want you here, to make sure you will be alright.”
Taph nodded, sniffling, turning their head to hide their face against Dusekkar’s shoulder.
Patient, Dusekkar allowed the demolitionist to calm themselves, idly rubbing their back in a practiced motion from comforting them before.
“Tomorrow, we can begin to pack, but for now, you may relax.” Dusekkar assured. Taph nodded against his shoulder, sluggish, likely exhausted from the day’s events.
Pulling the blanket back up over Taph, Dusekkar leaned back as well, scooting to the far edge of the couch, offering for the demolitionist to lay.
Taph did so, adjusting until the back of his hooded head lay on Dusekkar’s lap, and he were sprawled across the length of the couch.
Content, Dusekkar turned the radio down slightly, the music fading to background noise, as Dusekkar grabbed a book from the side table, opening it to his previous bookmark. He grabbed his reading glasses as well, which already had tape to be set to the side of his pumpkin. He doesn't know why he needs them when his head is a pumpkin, but he stopped questioning it.
Content, he browsed the page, beginning to read as Taph’s breathing evened out, asleep.
Tomorrow, they could worry about the move, the apartment, and the adjustment.
For now, they read a book, as Taph slept with his head in their lap.
