Home Is Where The Heart Is

"I did hug you!" He replied with a huff as he peaked an eye open to take the other in. "Like, super tight. Secondly, how do you think I kept people from buying this place? Kindly telling them to leave? Jesus, Nyle. I could make you shit yourself but I don't want to. I can be pretty spooky, yeah?"

With a quiet snort, he decided to grab their kitten before holding him close - the more affection the better, after all. Going as far as to offer a quick kiss, he watched the other in hopes of it pleasing him.
 
"You weren't scary to me. I mean, even when you went about breaking mirrors and stuff. I just thought you were adorable," he playfully cooed, offering a wink before letting his eyes settle back on the TV. It might have been a little cruel, but he genuinely couldn't wait to haunt someone one day. He wasn't eager to die, granted, but he'd seen tons of ghost movies and while he couldn't trust the logic in films completely, he was at least ready to one day try his hand at some ghostly activities.
 
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"That's a flat-out lie, you realize that, right? I distinctively remember you wanting to leave pretty soon after but you were stubborn. I'm really good at remembering things," he explained, offering a petulant pout in response. With just the flick of his finger, the cup of tea made its way to Leo's lips before taking a sip if only to annoy the other - after all, he couldn't taste any of it.

"I'm a tough guy - everyone is calling each other 'boi'right now, so that's what I am. I can scare anyone I want but I care about you too much. I'd scare off that lady who stopped by awhile back. She keeps emailing us and I hate it."
 
"Don't bother replying to her, jeez. I've stopped answering the door to Gigi, you know? I tried apologising a month back, she blanked me and hurried off, so I ain't answering when she comes knocking on the door. I thought she was nice but she's like everyone else here. You're the only fucking normal one, and you're a ghost," he laughed, quietly watching him move the cup without physically touching it. Things like that didn't unnerve him at all. Really, he found it cool and he wished Leo did more of that stuff.
 
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"She started to really message me when you were sent to the hospital," he added, his hands holding tight onto the mug. "Apologizing and everything. I think she thinks you tried to kill yourself, which is kind of funny. Don't be surprised if you get little fruit baskets or whatever. When I died, the town would put flowers by the door every now and then before they stopped feeling bad, I think. That's the thing, you know? They don't care about you, they only care about themselves and making themselves feel better. It's fucking gross."
 
"Yeah, I get that now. She was real cool when I first met her, but she was just introducing herself to make herself feel like she'd done some good, you know? She didn't care that much about me. God, this place is horrible," he groaned again, taking a brief glance at the window when spotting figures walk past and chatter happily amongst one another. He'd never had that, not even once, in this village. He'd gone out for supplies and groceries, and nobody even made eye contact with him, let alone stop him to ask him how he was settling in.

"Whatever. I don't... really need her when I have you and Bitters, right? Gigi's irrelevant, really. Like that woman who's been knocking and emailing. Ignore them and they'll go away."
 
"Really?" Leo whispered, hiding the excitement in his voice. Anything to make him feel less of a loser to block himself from the world was better, so for Nyle to have that sort of shut-in personality was pleasant. His smile only faded a tad once seeing the strangers surprisingly close to his home. Squirming a tad, he easily closed the blinds shut in horror.

"That reminds me, when are you working again? I mean, you can still dig up the money, it's not doing anything for me. Plus my work is going well..."
 
Nyle couldn't really believe just how opposite his views of the town were compared to when he first moved in. He'd wanted to really be a part of the community and had often flat-out insulted Leo's preference for cutting out the outside world. He'd gone out and found a job when he hadn't really needed to, and did his shopping in local stores rather than have it ordered in. He had just wanted to be a part of it all and be social--

But he'd more or less abandoned all of that now he realised just how selfish and horrendous everyone in this town were. Being reclusive and shutting them out was the easiest option-- and it made him less of a hypocrite.

"...I'm just not going to bother going back to the job. I can get one online, right? I'm sure there are... plenty of choices for me. I'm just-- you don't get how over it I am, Leo. They can just... fuck off. I've tried to fit in, they ignored me, so I'll just ignore them, right?"
 
"Of course I do!" He cooed in response as he pressed closer. The one thing that made him uncomfortable was the fact that Nyle was such an extrovert while he enjoyed simply remaining home away from everyone. To convince his boyfriend to become an introvert like him was a dream come true for Leo, even if he knew the fact was selfish.

"Why do you think I stayed inside all day? Because I thought everyone was nice? Fuck no. The only nice thing they've ever done was get me a grave with a gravestone which was at least better than my parents, but still. They're all disgusting and, if I were to somehow leave I would," he grumbled bitterly at the thought as he fit perfectly under the other's arms. "I mean, you can work out in the woods and talk to your family through the computer before heading over there. What else could you need?"
 
"...Yeah. Yeah, exactly! Being social's overrated, you know? Besides, when I head out to bars, I'm on my phone all night. I think checking my phone whilst cuddled up with you inside is better than being out in some loud club, getting judged. I dunno, I think... you were sort of right all along when you chose to just withdraw yourself, you know? This place is just... it's shit, ain't it?" He sighed, slipping further down in his seat. He might genuinely feel inclined to agree with Leo's philosophy in life, but that didn't mean he felt particularly... happy about it.

He came to be independent, that was true, but he'd always been incredibly social. Retiring to introversion did make him feel a little like a failure.
 
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Every town is shit," he replied easily as he sat up a tad, taking the human in. "Everywhere is disgusting, Nyle. My old town was even shittier, I know that's hard to believe. The town was a little bigger but that meant there were more people I needed to stay out of my life. My mother had friends who would come over and I could hear them talking about me. I'd hear them giggle and say something was wrong with me only to act cheery to my face. They thought I should go to a therapist o-or Roy in a fucking hospital forever just because I didn't want to see her and Him. There was nothing better than the faces she made when I decided to leave, you know? I could tell she was happy that I was being independent but I wish I could have stuck around to see her sob. I wish I could see her today, in fact."

After his small babble, he eventually sighed before offering an apologetic smile. For someone who barely spoke to anyone while alive, it was nice to find someone he could talk to. A little too late, he realized, but Nyle was great therapy.
 
"We both have mother issues, huh? I dunno, dude. I don't need my Mom, you don't need yours. Besides, my family likes you, so fuck your parents and whatever. If my sisters do visit, they'll love you," he reassured, hoping that in itself would cheer him up. He knew Leo didn't really find talking to them on Skype that comfortable, so he was worried physically seeing them in person would be overwhelming-- but he wasn't going to let that put him off inviting them.

"I'm going to kill myself one day for you, yeah? Least you could do is let my sisters pop around," he pointed out. "Besides, they're real great. Not annoying, not like anyone in this town. They're actually nice for a start."
 
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"I... guess," he replied cautiously as he shot a glance towards the other's laptop. He had made a few appearances in Nyle's Skype calls before but it was hardly for more than a minute or two. It felt nice to be worried over, which seemed to be the case with Nyle's sisters, but he just instinctively grew nervous the longer he was seen. The other's family seemed so... joyful and loving and he just didn't know how to reply to it. In a condense situation, like with Nyle solely, he could handle it but to have an entire family seemingly so welcome and caring was off-putting. He wasn't opposed to it, he just knew it wouldn't go smoothly. In fact, he already prepared to stay away if they ever visited.

"You can have them visit if they want but theyll be incredibly disappointed, I'm pretty sure," he admitted as he folded his arms around his stomach. "I mean, you could show them Bitters, he'd love it."
 
"Your insecurity isn't cute, Leo. It's... so ridiculous because you're really great and a total catch and I want to show you off. Like, you're the nicest, sweetest guy I've ever dated. All the others have been assholes, and I wanna show my sisters and my Dad that I'm capable of, like, bagging myself a good guy," he sighed, his brief good mood disappearing the moment Leo fell back into that anxious mode of thinking. He couldn't yell at him for it, not when he had his moments of being equally self-conscious, but it did make him feel useless. He'd spent weeks trying to boost the other's self-worth, and it did feel like everything he had said hadn't sunk in.
 
"... I meant the house, too," he added as he motioned to the cozy cabin. "I mean, I've never been to Philadelphia before but I imagine it's a lot more busy and modern than our place, right? Plus they probably wouldn't like having to take such a trip to the house, yeah?" He reminded, a part of him a tad insulted by the other assuming it was himself that he was bashing. Scruffing the cat's fur, he looked around the cabin for emphasis.

"It doesn't matter yet, right? You're going there first, anyway. We can plan on them coming later, we need to focus more on us talking while you're gone. I'm gonna miss you..."
 
"I'll miss you too-- but come on, we need a break, right? I don't... feel that comfortable around 'ya right now, for obvious reasons, and you could do with a break from me. It'll be good! I'll come back and we'll be all lovey dovey again," he purred, managing to wink flirtatiously at him despite his admission that he was less than comfortable in his company right now. Just because he didn't feel very at ease around him right now didn't mean he'd lost all his love for him. That just didn't disappear - even if he'd been poisoned slowly over weeks and killed for a few minutes by him.
 
"So... no contact, then?" He confirmed cautiously, sitting up a tad in his own discomfort. "I mean, that's fine. I'll miss you, like, a lot. I... I understand, though. I mean, I was a pretty bad person a-and... I understand you're upset," he reassured as he took the other's hands in his, even though it could barely be felt.

"That's a bummer, though. I missed you for a few days, how long do you even plan to be gone? A week? That's... I mean, that's an average vacation time. What will I do if someone comes by?"
 
"I just need some space-- but I'll text you. No face-time or whatever, but texts and calls are fine. I just need a week at the most to get my head back in check and recover and stuff, you know? I don't... think that's a lot to ask for," he pointed out, resting back with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

"How did you cope when I wasn't here? Like, you lived alone before I came, right? How did you cope with people coming around when I wasn't here? Just ignore 'em."
 
"It sucked, like... really badly," he protested as he adjusted, letting go of Nyle's hand to sit criss-cross. "I mean, just in general. It sucks being lonely, you know? I'll order a phone so I can text you, yeah? I haven't had a phone in half a decade," he commented, attempting to make the conversation a little less awkward. It was hurtful, what the other said, but he understood.

"I always told myself that I preferred living alone but I was lying, obviously. I mean, just being in the house with someone else, not interacting whatsoever, is nice. Like, just knowing that there's someone else with me is comforting," he admitted while motioning the black cat onto his lap, smiling at the familiar purr from Bitters as he flopped down knowingly onto his legs.
 
"...Just because I need some space doesn't mean that I... hate you or anything, you do know that, don't you? I will come back and we'll, like, get right back to normal. Hey, we could even get another cat so Bitters has some company. A real cute kitten or somethin'. It should, like, at least cheer things up around here," he smiled, despite feeling a little guilty. He knew he shouldn't feel that way when he'd been poisoned slowly and inevitably killed by him... but that apparently didn't mean he still couldn't feel guilty abouthis blunt manner of speech.

"I... I dunno, maybe I'll go for three or four days and not a full week-- and we'll talk and stuff, so it's not like you'll hear nothing from me."
 
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