#c: andrej

[itsjustemmett]

for: andrej ( @candydrippings​ ) when: whenever the timeline fits location: the apartment

   emmett had stood in front of the old apartment he shared with andrej and grayson for what felt like hours, when really it was thirty-minute, wondering if he should let more time pass before making the move back into the place. ever since the night he was supposed to decorate with andrej and discovering everything about him and grayson, emmett’s heart had felt heavier than he could manage to bear. the sun did not shine brightly anymore, the snow didn’t seem as white, and nothing really filled the void he felt. truth was, andrej was a piece of him now; life without him was horrible. from the moment he walked out the door of their shared apartment, emmett wanted to turn around and wrap his arms around andrej. he wanted to assure the other everything would be okay, but emmett was not okay. he couldn’t pretend with andrej, not when he had already spent years pretending he didn’t have feelings for him; there was just no strength in him to fake feelings anymore. it hurt him to know andrej was telling him all the things he wanted to hear, but seeing grayson behind his back. most of all, it hurt knowing that he was the reason a relationship crumbled. had he not shown up, would they have worked out? it was a stupid thought to keep him up at night, yet it wouldn’t stop bothering him. had he ruined any form of happiness the two could’ve shared?

   as he stepped up to the door, swallowing a thick invisible lump that formed in his throat, his hand reached for the doorknob; the entire time, his mind tried to remind him that this wasn’t his fault. nothing had been his fault, but it felt like he was lying to himself. what if he walked in and andrej didn’t want to see him anymore? what if he found andrej in the arms of another, or he found him and grayson finally living their happily ever after? his brows knitted together, a soft sigh escapes his lips; with the last bit of courage he has, emmett turns the door open and enters the apartment he once called home. instantly he heard the pitter-patter of aristotle’s paws on the floor, and he prepared for a giant ari hug, kneeling down so he could embrace the pup the moment they caught sight of each other. “i’ve missed you, too, ari,” he whispered, softly giggling, giving aristotle’s face little kisses. setting the duffle bag he had packed down by the front door, emmett slowly begins to take his jacket off, brushing a bit of snow out of his damp hair, he steps further into the apartment. before he could call out for anyone he watched to see where aristotle went, following the pup to the front of andrej’s door. one shaky hand comes up to gently knock on andrej’s bedroom door, once again trying to swallow the invisible lump in his throat, “andrej?” he softly called out, giving another knock, “hey, it’s...emmett. i’m not even sure if you’re in here, um...i just....” what if he is in there with someone? ememtt thought to himself, changing his mind on what he was going to initially say, “...i just wanted you to know i’m back. i, uh, came to..get more clothes. i’ll be out of your way soon, okay?”

[itsjustemmett]

for: andrej ( @candydrippings​ ) location: their home time: evening hours

   here was the thing with emmett blackwood, the guy loved the holidays. he loved spreading cheer throughout the year, giving as much as possible, having a whole month of being able to celebrate that was like heaven for him. every day of December, he would set out to spread even more joy in moorbrooke, volunteering at the local animal shelter, knitting random sunflower plushies to leave around town, buying gifts that nobody needed but ememtt couldn’t help himself, and above all, decorating. he LOVED to decorate. after the first year of living with his roommates and hearing no protests, emmett did not spare them a single jingle or jangle during the holiday seasons. this year he was even more excited to decorate because he had, somehow, managed to get andrej to come home early from work. well, at least, emmett assumed it was early as the guy honestly had no idea what hours andrej worked at delia’s cafe. it was before one in the morning, and that’s all emmett could honestly ask for. 

   things were not any less confusing for emmett than they were before he had told andrej how he felt. in fact, it felt as if things were even more confusing now. whenever he was around andrej, everything made sense, though it was like all the puzzle pieces clicked. but when he found himself alone, everything hit him like a million tiny bricks. he had no idea what he was supposed to do going forward with andrej. heck, emmett wasn’t sure if they even would go forward, and he had zero intentions of asking about it too. the last thing he wanted was to make andrej feel pressured in any way. it was hard to be around andrej with people around now, though, because he didn’t know how he was supposed to act. could he still lightly flirt with him like before? would it make andrej feel weird if he tried to hold his hand when they were alone? if he did make the first step and kissed him, would the other mind? he was one hundred percent willing to take things slow for many reasons, emmett just wondered how slow they would be taking it. 

   the door opening and aristotle rushing towards it with a new christmas tree hat on, snapped emmett out of his thoughts and back to the hot chocolate he was finishing up. “in the kitchen, andrej!” he happily calls out, lowering the christmas music he had blasting, “i’m setting up some hot chocolate for us. i even bought the little marshmallows!” as he was yelling out to the other he’s also filling the cups and tossing the mini marshmallows in them. he was currently wearing starwars pj pants and an iron man santa shirt with a santa hat on because he felt rude if he made aristotle wear a hat and emmett did not. as he finishes sprinkling a bit of cocoa powder on top of the hot chocolates, he turns to see andrej entering the kitchen, “hi, handsome,” he warmly greets, fighting the urge to go over and kiss him, “i hope you’re ready to be festive. i might have a christmas movie also lined up for us to have in the background while we decorate the tree. can you believe i got grayson to help me put it up? he even helped with the lights! i mean, he was grumpy throughout the entire time, but still.”