#reply: vitus

[tommymaddox]

CLOSED STARTER for @vitusxaydin At Vitus' apartment Post Marlow coming to Tommy upset

The stairwell echoes with the impact of Tommy's black boots as he climbs towards the second story. With each step it feels as if concrete has been poured between his toes, readily weighing him down. For a week he had been looking forward to tonight, to hopefully making up for some of his behaviour the week before whilst getting to see who Vitus was behind closed doors. He already knew an apron would be centre stage, something he'd been eager to tease them over. That was until last night when Marlow had admitted Vitus was her mystery crush who was messing with her feelings, and that something had gone down with Deacon years ago which left a soured taste in Tommy's mouth. Whilst Tommy knew that Vitus was friends with people around town, it was far too small not to, having even interacted with his sister, he'd never imagined that Vitus was the mystery man. It troubled him more trying to connect the man he knew with the information Marlow had provided. It felt like he'd been lied to, or perhaps he'd been a fool to think of Vitus as this entirely sweet man. Either way it didn't feel good.

He makes the clearing of Vitus floor and follows the numbers on the door until he finds the one left to him in a text days ago. Not that he'd needed them, an aromour was seeping out into the hallway that reminded Tommy hadn't eaten since breakfast with Marlow. He thinks about her as he lingers in the hallway, about the tears on her cheeks as he'd held her or the way he lips had found his own in a desperate attempt to feel wanted. Vitus had done that to her. His still bruised knuckles rise to the door, knocking harder than they would have if this was a day earlier. Everything had changed now. Tommy wasn't here to be friends with Vitus, he was here to put him in his place.

[tommymaddox]

CLOSED STARTER for @vitusxaydin Hideaway Market

It's past sunset when Tommy awakes and ventures out into the world to find food. His kitchen is bare so he is forced to pull out clothes from his wardrobe and act like a human being despite sleeping for an ungodly amount of hours. His ventures end up at the market after he gets a craving for cookies, knowing just the right spot to find the good ones. It's not the healthiest of meals but he is stringing together his day to day still, so it will do.

Sitting on a bench he has his quiet mouse moment, eating his cookie alone as he people watches. The familiarity, and yet growth the city has had, is comforting after all these years. It's nice just letting the world move around him for once, though as the universe always dictates in Merrock, one could not go out without crossing the path of someone they knew. The figure was across his way, perhaps on their own cookie seeking adventure or more likely something more interesting. Tommy couldn't actually state he knew Vitus all that well. They'd met only a month before Tommy departed, their time typically casual and fleeting. He recalls their sweetness and silently nods a hello at the memory of it. Truthfully he expects them to have forgotten him by now, but the thought they remain in Merrock keeps a smile playing on his lips. It's nice to be home.

[tommymaddox]

Closed starter for @vitusxaydin Following this thread

Admittedly, Tommy left Vitus’ apartment the night before feeling less like an idiot for seeing Vitus on a date with another, and more of an idiot for how he’s treated Vitus. Since things had become physical, Tommy had been in a dream, soaking up every bit of physical affection between them. In that time neither had spoken about what it really meant, a conversation that now left Vitus clueless. Tommy had thought his soft touches conveyed the soft thoughts in his mind, but he’d foolishly never looped Vitus in on the fact. There was no translation from Tommy’s mind to Vitus’. Perhaps that was a problem repeated through time, Tommy’s ex-wife feeling neglected in times Tommy thought he had been better. As Tommy had asked “Do you really not know… how I feel about you?” only to receive no answer, to watch Vitus’ face as he struggles with the thought, was enough for Tommy to know things had to change.

With not nearly enough sleep the following morning, Tommy had called Vitus. “Can I take you out tonight?” A big question for someone so aware of the eyes in this city, the very ones that have haunted him since he was a child. He’d promised Vitus they would still talk, that was something that could not be ignored or delayed. With the instructions of dressing casual with a jacket for warmth, he’d left Vitus with very little details on what they’d be doing. A plan had formed but he needed the hours of the day to execute parts of it.

The day was warm but certainly no heatwave. A storm was due in the coming days, one could smell it in the air, a threat of rain just out over the horizon. A breeze dipped into the crevasse of the town recovering from a weekend of dresses and ties. Tommy’s jeep cuts its engine off, parked perfectly in front of Vitus’ apartment as if a sign tonight would go well despite Tommy’s nerves worried it wont. Looking in the reflection of his rearview mirror he could see that worry echoed back at him. He felt a lot of people slipping out of his grasp lately, the idea of doing nothing to draw them back in belonged to an older version of Tommy. This version, and the version he wanted to be more like, would try to be better. Not just with Vitus but Marlow and others, but for tonight he was going to focus on just one.

His typical jeans and boots combination had been put aside for light chinos and nice shoes, a green shirt he’d picked out, and ironed (!), was rolled up to his elbows whilst the lingering sun still warms the air. A jacket remained in his locked car as he walked up to Vitus’ apartment, knocking with the knowledge that Vitus was mere steps away. Somehow, just that thought, pushes nerves aside long enough to let excitement back in. This wasn’t just a date, this was their first, and yes, the circumstances it came from needed to be taken care of across the board, but he’d be dumb not to enjoy the pending events he’d planned for the night, assuming it all went well that is.

[tommymaddox]

Tuesday, August 1, 6:30pm - Vitus’ apartment  @vitusxaydin

The aftermath of the Gala has left Tommy in a field covered in debris, fragments of friendships and something more littered around him. His ability to protect anything during the night of the Gala had been pathetic - he’d only upset Marlow more, been too scared to approach Vitus, and acted poorly with just about everyone else. A couple of days had passed with Rory and Valentina offering him comfort, connections years ago he would have been ungrateful for. They kept him from his spiral and offered strength for him to pull himself together, resulting in his latest mission: surprise Vitus with food so they could talk about things. Food had been an ongoing trend in their friendship long before things had crossed into new territory and it offered a great distraction from how anxious Tommy felt about this talk. He needed to know what Vitus was feeling, had Marlow changed things, and if there was a path that could take them back or find a new one that led them forward to something Tommy could understand.

That is why he finds himself holding a bag of food, standing outside Vitus’ door mentally chuckling to himself as the smell of something delicious seeps into the hallway. He can picture them moving around their kitchen adding seasonings to their sauces whilst the strings of his apron dance from all the movement. Tommy should have called, texted at the very least, so that Vitus knew he’d be by and specifically bringing food for them. It wouldn’t be the first time food went cold though, and it was the least important thing tonight.

The warmth he feels picturing Vitus behind the door brings him comfort, and with that confidence. Knuckles rattle against the wood, ready to tease the brunette about floral aprons and find a way forward together.