Claire’s greeting was absent-minded as she threw it back toward the cafe. She was busying herself in the back room while Rachel and a few others tended to the front. Despite being out of sight from the customer, that darn bell had Pavloved her into shouting the same words whenever it rang. Still, she was grateful to have a little extra work keeping her busy on the occasional lonely night -- though it was still early in the afternoon.
The blonde adjusted the ribbon adornment on her head and fluffed her bangs before grabbing up a huge box of napkins. It was enough to block her vision, but she assumed all would be fine as long as she was careful. Pressing her cheek against the cardboard, Claire tossed her hip toward the door to swing it open, crossing the floors while a familiar path guided her toward the tables in the back. Or so she thought.
Something Claire wasn’t expecting was a wet floor sign in her path. Despite it being neon yellow, it didn’t catch her glance until her foot was already stumbling over it. With a sudden yelp, Claire felt herself careening toward the floor, along with a flurry of napkins.
Craftsman Gray is here. He'll be taking over as boss/owner of the motorworks, will be boss at the blacksmiths, and will be an employee at the mining company. He'll be living in Mire Apartments room #A201.
His hand’s been on the door for the last thirty seconds, frozen in melting time. The doorknob is cold and smooth, silver peeking between his digits. It’s grounding, something to keep him from floating away on his limited motor skills, a given after more than a few drinks.
There’s been a door between them for a while now. Chase still isn’t sure whether he’s the one who shut it or not, but what little courage afforded to him by copious amounts of liquor says he’ll be the one who opens it. What spills out into the other side remains to be seen.
That thought is a scary one. Feelings were always better left contained, away from eyes that could scrutinize, or words that could cut like the edge of a serrated knife.
And still, Gray’s never said anything that could hurt him. Even in his anger, pitiful insults with no bite and defensive sarcasm meant to keep all the sadness within. Chase would crawl back to him on his hands and knees, begging forgiveness with every torn part of him if that’s what it took to make him stay.
That’s what feels so petrifying. How willing Chase would sign over his soul if Gray would stay with him a little longer.
Moments like this are fleeting, and that’s what gives him the willpower to open the door to his best friend’s bedroom, silent save for the subtle creak of wood settling and socks shifting across the floor.
A voice is telling him how strange it would be to see him appear in his room without warning, the ghost of a memory crossing his bedroom in tangible form. It’s only been a few years, but every minute feels like a lifetime.
Chase is actively trying not to wake him up. Long hours at work bled into daylight far too soon sometimes, and he knows that well. Gray needs his sleep, and that’s the most important thing.
The bed shifts under his weight as he crawls in somewhere beside him, the room illuminated only by the moonlight streaming inside. It’s hanging far ahead in the sky now, there would only be a short time until slivers of daylight break the dark space instead.
Violet eyes follow the outline of his shape, resting on the easy rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. It’s easy to get lost in him for a moment, but it would look weird to be caught here, like a stalker or a serial killer in an awkward position.
Chase needs that moment to know what he’s going to say, however. If he doesn’t, he may not get a second chance at alcohol-stupid confidence.
His voice isn’t much louder than a whisper. No, he doesn’t need him awake, he just needs Gray there while he says what’s on his mind out loud. Comforting silence was always a superior choice to unnecessary small talk, most particularly when Chase is wasted.
“You should probably know I’ve been depressed for a while.” It feels strange, admitting that voluntarily. Is that what he’s been feeling? Depressed? It’s the best word he has to describe it.
“Hell, you probably knew that already.”
Fingertips pass idly over Gray’s bare skin, over the curve of his spine, letting the ebb of the other boy’s breathing lull his heart away into something steady. He’s so close and yet so out of reach. That same voice is asking him who’s fault is that, guilty and venomous.
“I just thought I should tell you how happy I am you asked me to be here with you. I didn’t think I’d want to live with anyone in the world, and my favourite person alive asked me to.”
It doesn’t sound right to his own ears, but that’s the alcohol limiting his vocal capabilities. Chase is surprised he isn’t slurring, after all that drinking he did just a little while prior.
“So you can’t blame me if things don’t feel real. Life hasn’t really gone my way before. You’re the one thing I think I did right.”
He draws his hand away, back to his side. There’s no point expending more physical contact than necessary. This was a quick trip, he’s not passing out in his bed to have Gray ask what the fuck he’s doing the next morning.
“I just thought I’d tell you how much I love you. I appreciate you. That’s probably a really dumb thing to say, but you should know that, just in case.”
Just in case. Chase doesn’t fill in the blanks, there’s just empty void where the rest of his sentence should be.
“Thank you. For all of this. It’s been a lot.”
It’s so much harder to thank someone than it is to say goodbye. Why is that, he wonders? Maybe it’s just Gray’s influence alone, but he’s certainly not in the right stand of mind to psychoanalyze his own behavior.
“That’s all. Goodnight.”
Chase eases off the mattress carefully, socked feet just as quiet as he slips back across the floor. He’s quiet enough not to make much sound, keeping it quick and simple, wood creaking only barely as he makes his way back out of his room.
Craftsman Gray is here/back (with minor alterations) and will be taking the ownership+boss position of Vermillion Motorworks, working at the blacksmiths and mining company, and will be buying a house on leuda aka hes going into a lot of debt lol
