[RL with Devit]

[tyki_tock]

It had been three weeks. Time often seemed to fly by for Tyki, whiling away his days doing whatever he felt like doing, but these three weeks had crawled past. Devit alternated between flying into rages and falling into black moods, and the latter had grown more and more frequent

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[halfthetroubl]

The lights in the room were off and the curtains drawn shut, so that Devit was lying in almost complete darkness as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd been that way for some time now (maybe an hour, maybe a lot more or a lot less). Whether it was better or worse than the hour he'd spent curled up on Jasdero's bed earlier he couldn't say for sure, but hey, at least he wasn't crying anymore. That counted for something, right? Or might have, if he could bring himself to give a shit.

At the sound of knocking, he glanced at the door but said nothing; he wanted to be alone now, or so he thought, so he simply looked up at the ceiling again.

[tyki_tock]

Tyki waited a few moments, but he hadn't expected an answer. After that perfunctory pause, he opened the door and stepped inside. Considering that he could have simply walked through it, he considered it quite polite that he bothered with the knocking.

"Stuffy in here," he commented, walking across the room and setting the bowl of ice cream on the bedside table with the spoon in easy reach of the miserable boy on the bed. He didn't look closely at Devit, but he saw how his cheeks were streaked with the evidence of tears. The boy hadn't been wearing makeup, but the evidence was obvious, anyway.

He kept his face smooth and bland as he parted the curtains and opened the window, letting in a fresh ocean breeze and mid-afternoon sunlight.

[halfthetroubl]

The only thing that surprised Devit was the fact that Tyki used the door properly. Still, why the hell did he bother knocking if he wasn't going to mind the fact that Devit didn't want him in here? Asshole.

He turned his head a little, trying to hide his face, as Tyki came in and placed something on the bedside table. When he was sure Tyki was facing away, he turned back to glance at it, only mildly curious, and blinked. Was that ice cream...?

"Agh...!" Unprepared for sunlight, he threw the blankets over his head when the curtains were opened.

[tyki_tock]

Tyki stepped back from the window and looked around with some satisfaction as fresh air began wafting into the dark room. He plunked himself down on the edge of Devit's mattress and looked at the lump under the blankets next to him.

"Do you want me to go get your zombie?" he asked, as if this were a perfectly logical, every-day question.

[halfthetroubl]

"No," came the quick, muffled reply, and then an almost hesitant, quieter 'no' after the fact. If Shito wanted to come, he could come himself, but Devit wasn't going to have Tyki bring him. It wasn't like he needed him or anything...

[tyki_tock]

Tyki's eyebrows rose. "I don't mind playing delivery boy if you want him here and he wants to come," he pressed. "It's not good for you to be alone in here, Devit. You should come out, at least eat something, maybe take a little air. The sun is bright today, and the ocean is so blue."

[halfthetroubl]

Devit gritted his teeth beneath the blankets, cringing more with every word. He really wished Tyki would take the hint and go away or at least shut up.

"Stop it," he growled.

[tyki_tock]

Tyki fell silent. He couldn't imagine what Devit was going through, and he knew that was true. He had many friends - something Devit had scoffed at - yet he knew he had never had a bond with anyone as deep and visceral as the bond Devit and Jasdero shared. In fact, he had ultimately rebelled against the deepest bond he'd formed with one of his friends.

His initial reaction had been one of impatience and at least a willingness to help, but he hadn't realized how bad it was going to get until some time had passed without any word.

Quietly, he reached out and laid a hand on Devit's head - or at least where he thought the boy's head was, under the blanket.

"He may come back," he said softly. The whole thing baffled him. It wasn't at all like normal behaviour of the community - usually if people vanished from the community, they at least went home, but Jasdero was gone completely.

[halfthetroubl]

Whatever had happened, Devit couldn't stand it, and he couldn't stand Tyki coddling him like this anymore, either. Sitting up quickly, he threw the blankets down and tried to shove the man's hand away in the process, glaring fiercely.

"I said stop," he croaked. "You don't know anything, okay?! He is coming back!" His fists were balled tightly, and while he wasn't crying, there was an obvious crack in his voice. "I don't care what anybody says; he's coming back! So just-- just--!" Unable to finish, he closed his eyes tightly and tried to reign himself in, with little success.

[tyki_tock]

Tyki eyed him serenely. "Of course he's coming back," he said readily. "Which is why there's no point in lying in here and moping all day long. Do you think he'd want you to do that, if he were here?" he asked reasonably.

[halfthetroubl]

Screw reason. "Just... shut up," Devit managed. Not trusting himself to say anything more, he drew his knees to his chest and buried his face against them, falling silent.

[tyki_tock]

Tyki sighed and poked him in the shoulder. "Either I get your zombie to deal with you, or you're coming outside with me for some food and a walk. Your choice. After that, you can mope as much as you like again."

[halfthetroubl]

"Fuck off," he choked.

[tyki_tock]

"All right," Tyki said with a put-upon sigh. "I'll be back shortly."

He rose to his feet and headed for the door.

[halfthetroubl]

Devit didn't respond at first. He stubbornly kept his head down and watched Tyki from the corner of his eye, trying really hard not to care. By the time the older man was partly out the door, though, he couldn't take it anymore, and his head snapped up.

"Wait!"

[tyki_tock]

Tyki paused in the doorway, glancing back at Devit with a quizzical expression.

"Yes?"