An Airbnb in Baltimore, Tuesday Afternoon
Sparkle had given the island's weirdness one night! One.
One was enough. The message that he'd left for Atton in the wake of that night was dubiously coherent and had been left without a single breath taken between words, and Sparkle could not get off the island fast enough after being caught out after the airhorns sounded, thank you very, very much. Sparkle had put up with years of Fandom horror, but very little could prepare a guy for the things he'd seen, stabbed, and screamed at while trying to make his way to somewhere that didn't involve...
... those.
It was a frazzled, tipsy Sparkle, wielding a tupperware container with a fish in it in one hand and half a bottle of Fireball in the other, who made his way up to the Airbnb that Hernando had booked and who knocked on the door. With his face.
There might have been sobbing involved? Or it could've just been frazzled ranting in between bouts of quiet screeching. It was hard to tell.
Sparkles were not made for Silent Hills.
[OOC: For the one, or for texts and/or phonecalls! NFB for distance!]
One was enough. The message that he'd left for Atton in the wake of that night was dubiously coherent and had been left without a single breath taken between words, and Sparkle could not get off the island fast enough after being caught out after the airhorns sounded, thank you very, very much. Sparkle had put up with years of Fandom horror, but very little could prepare a guy for the things he'd seen, stabbed, and screamed at while trying to make his way to somewhere that didn't involve...
... those.
It was a frazzled, tipsy Sparkle, wielding a tupperware container with a fish in it in one hand and half a bottle of Fireball in the other, who made his way up to the Airbnb that Hernando had booked and who knocked on the door. With his face.
There might have been sobbing involved? Or it could've just been frazzled ranting in between bouts of quiet screeching. It was hard to tell.
Sparkles were not made for Silent Hills.
[OOC: For the one, or for texts and/or phonecalls! NFB for distance!]

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And then, because he was being very silly, he rolled over and waggled his butt again.
At Sparkle.
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And Sparkle was going to resist, barely, the urge to reach out and swat that butt.
"Dinner and a show," he said, instead. "Babe, you're spoiling me rotten."
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"I like spoiling you," Hernando said, turning around before he got a buttery handprint on his ass. Because he knew Sparkle. "I made you toast with peanut butter and cheese." Beat. "So how was it?"
He wasn't certain Sparkle had even tasted it. Didn't matter, it was a thing to talk about that'd keep him distracted.
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"It," Sparkle shared, "is great."
He really hadn't tasted it. But his mouth hadn't immediately rebelled on him, and so he ate another bite just for show.
...
"Actually, no really, it is pretty good."
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It did not, however, contain aspirin and the label did not claim it to be. Hernando had no idea what the percentages meant but Sparkle might know.
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"Oh," he said, chewing and swallowing that bite of toast and humming, "Dani wanted you to have a nice evening or ten."
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He wasn't above smoking an occasional bowl, no. It just wasn't something he did more than very rarely, for fun.
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He pulled one out and looked it over.
"... Seems like cheating. Wanna make brownies?"
Yes. Now was an excellent time to make brownies, Sparkle.
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"Tomorrow maybe," Hernando offered, "For now, you have toast and tea and little capsules of plant matter. Cheating is okay right now, baby. You're very tired."
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Still, he was popping one into his mouth and then washing it down with some of that tea without another thought. Maybe he'd chase it with another in a bit. Maybe he wouldn't. Right now, the idea of just not giving a shit for a while had some big appeal.
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"I don't know," Hernando shook his head with a lopsided smile, "I've never tried it enough to know a time difference or even that there was one." He wouldn't be unhappy if Sparkle managed to sleep though he didn't expect that to happen soon if it happened at all.
"How's your head, baby?" Didn't mean a headache, no, but left it open to that interpretation.
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He was not going to ask for details. He wanted Sparkle to keep the food down. "The summer has been 'a lot' for weeks on end," he offered, "You've held up through it far better than I would or even could have, baby." It wasn't a throw away comment. He meant it. "Is there anything more you need that I could do to help you while you are coping with this?"
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"Hug me and pet me and tell me I'm pretty, I guess," he murmured. "This is nice. I mean. Just... this. Kinda normal, comfortble... us-ness. This-ness."
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"Some calm in the crazy," Hernando agreed. He sat up and wormed am arm behind Sparkle to cuddle up against him. Fingers, of course, going into the still damp hair to stroke through it. "You are pretty, you know," he said, "and if you want me to tell you, then this means you don't get to argue with my opinion." Mostly teasing. "I adore you. I want you to rest and let yourself recover. Don't push it, okay? You can be held and petted and I will tell you how pretty you are and make you all the ridiculous food you want for as long as it takes."
Kissed his head. "I can't handle the things you can handle, baby, but I can take care of you after you have. Your job is to let yourself let me, okay?" Which he knew wasn't easy. Especially for someone who wasn't all that used to depending on anyone.
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He... might, actually.
"It'll only be a week," he murmured, "whatever it is. Only a week." And then what? He didn't know. Didn't care. Didn't want to move from this spot right here.
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"I will make you peanut butter cheese toast," he said, because hell, if Sparkle ate it, it was protein and carbs. "Or soup with the little oyster crackers in it and sandwich soldiers to dunk." Comfort food.
"Only a week," Hernando agreed, "Though I have rented this place until September. I am not going back until it is stable again. Not for more than long enough to check on the store and make sure the fish and quokka have food. You don't have to either. Not even for Atton. He can come crash on the sofabed here." Which was why there was a sofa bed here, yes.
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Between that and Atton, he was kind of getting low on reasons to keep going back there, though. Except...
"... Gotta keep my head down, here. You're allowed to be in America. I'm kinda here by grace of Portalocity."
Kinda. Sorta.
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"And we will, when it is stable again," Hernando said, still petting his hair, "We can check in until then but this whole summer has been one danger after another and neither of us needs that in our lives right now."
Kissed the side of his head. "It's just.. a longer vacation than we planned, is all this is, baby. We'll go back. When the island stops having a damn identity crisis."
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"We'll go back," Sparkle agreed, nodding a little. He ate his last piece of toast, and then sighed and leaned against Hernando, smiling faintly. "In the meantime, know what's great?"
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"Tell me what's great, baby," Hernando asked, cuddling him in against his side and kissing his head.
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Sparkle nuzzled in close and gave a soft laugh, something approaching a giggle. Whether it was desperate or genuine or a mix of both helped along by the alcohol was anyone's best guess, his own included.
"It's all fucked up out there? Like, everything? Fucking everything. But I still have this."
He nuzzled in that little bit more.
He had people.
He had people.
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Hernando's hand stroked slowly through his hair, pushing it off Sparkle's forehead because that was a kiss landing zone and it needed to be clear for a moment. "You have people," he agreed quietly, "And we have you. That makes us very lucky."
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"Hmm," Sparkle hummed, "maybe. Maybe not as lucky as me, though."
He'd spent a lot of time in his life convinced up and down that 'people' was something for other folks, after all. The ones who deserved it.
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"Definitely," Hernando replied, nuzzling him. "I definitely feel lucky to have you in my life as one of my people, baby. I'm glad you are here with me."
Kissing his forehead again with a little smile, he asked teasingly, "Are you stoned yet?"
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