Like a Moth to a Flame

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"...They'll get other jobs. J-Jeez, that was my dream job. I-I loved it there, I was there years. Alexander was my best friend, he... he came to my sister's wedding as my plus one, and we went on vacations together. Doesn't mean he should be let off for murder just because he was my closest friend. I... I'd rather him go to prison and stop murdering innocent people. I'll get another job and move on," she stated as confidently as she could, even though the reminders of her good times with Alexander were hard to talk about without her throat growing tight, as it usually did before she cried.

Somehow, she managed to blink back the tears and smile at her friend, pouring the coffee out for him with the promised cream and sugar. Usually, she tried to stick to her diet-- but that was practically out the window as of now. Until the trial was over and she had some peace, she wasn't going to stick to some diet - she didn't have the energy to bother about that right now.

"A what test? Psych? I mean... you should, I think. You've been through a lot, Tim. F-Fuck, we could both do with some therapy after all this, huh?"
 
"I don't think there's a reason to. I'm... fine. I'm fine, yeah. I just need a few days to just sleep all of this off, you know? Some sleep and proper alcohol and I'll be fine. I'll forget the feelings I've had for months now, and forget the fact that he wanted to start a family with a serial killer. I'll forget that I'm a fucking moron for not realizing I was set up as just a prop for both him and my job, I..."

Sniffling, Timothy wiped away his tears quickly before pressing his chin on the table. "I think I want to go see my dad. I just want to leave the city for awhile. I... I really wish we could have spent more time at that place, it was nice to be able to be out in nature for a bit. You can come, if you want, but I just know I can't be here anymore. I'm sure that the department will give me some time off."
 
"Of course I want to come with you, I bet your Dad's great," she smiled, doing her best to diffuse some of the upset and anger. A pot of coffee and some eggs was hardly going to do that effectively, but nobody could really lambaste her effort. The last thing she wanted was to start crying and break down, simply because she was wise enough to realise she wasn't going to be able to stop. She wanted instead to be strong, to carry on and realise that Alexander was where he deserved to be right now.

"Is he like you? My father was a lovely man, raised me and my brother and sister on his own when my mom ran off with her toyboy," she shrugged, not delving into too much detail - she'd told Timothy all this a good few months ago after getting drunk in her apartment. "I bet he's a real gentleman, hm?"
 
"I wouldn't say he's a gentleman, but he's a good guy. The typical American man, you know? He likes his beer and his sports, enjoys his ribs and steak, likes lounging on his chair... He's a good guy, though. He's humbled, and he cares about me - he can be a tad bit blunt, though. It's a good thing, though! He... He believed me, and here I am. I got onto the task force, like him, you know? I'm the smallest guy on the whole force, yet I'm a 'hero'." He admitted, the topic at least cheering him up a tad as he watched the percolator silently.

"He'll probably give his usual grunt in approval and make some nice dinner. He's not a very emotional person, granted, he mostly keeps to himself." He added, before offering a smile to Sandra. "He'll immediately assume I'm dating you, even if I've been in the papers saying I've been dating a man. He's not, like, homophobic, just always expected me to find some beautiful woman."
 
"Well he won't assume we're dating if he expects you to be with a beautiful woman, Timothy. I don't see myself as model material, let's be fair. I'm kinda chubby and I wear weird clothes, I'm not in, say, Naomi Campbell's league," she snorted, hitching herself back up off the chair to plate up the eggs and few pieces of ham she'd found in a pack in the fridge, handing across Timothy's share of the breakfast with a stern nod. She knew his appetite might not be there right now, but she was quite prepared to sit all day until he ate enough of the meal. She, meanwhile, immediately tucked in, only realising upon the first mouthful how hungry she was.

"He sounds like a good man. I mean... my father was the opposite. He was an artist, very quiet and 'out there', I suppose. He was gentle and hardly spoke louder than a whisper. I suppose he went like that after Mom, you know? You'd have liked him, I think. He'd have definitely loved you," she admitted, forcing herself not to get down about it. Her father had been dead years at this point, and the last thing she needed was to get emotional about something else upon all of Alexander drama.
 
"You took after him, at least creativity wise," he offered, before getting up and pouring himself a coffee, deliberately avoiding the breakfast. As she assumed, Tim was in no mood to eat anything, especially nothing particularly filling like what Sandra had made, but he accepted the cup of coffee with open arms as he wandered back to his seat and took a heavy sip. Anything to get rid of the sluggishness of drinking more than half a bottle of straight-up vodka. In a sad way, he was proud he hadn't vomited it all up yet.

"You'll like him, yeah. He's quiet, but kind of like a thunderstorm, if that makes sense? He can be incredibly quiet but looming and shit - I'm too tired to come up with metaphors." He grunted, before taking back a heavy drink. "He's good. My ma hasn't been in the picture much, either, if that helps? Probably not..."
 
"I mean, my Mom was never around either, so... so yeah, I at least understand. I'm sure he's a real nice fella, and... and I'm totally down for staying with him for a while, at least until we have to come back and stand in court. I assume they want us to give formal statements and be questioned and stiff. Fuck, I'm going to have to buy something for that to wear, I can't rock up in my rainbow cashmere sweater..." She murmured, absently pulling at the threads of said sweater as she awkwardly shuffled in her seat. Eventually realising the other breakfast wasn't going to get eaten, in comparison to her already empty plate, she quietly did a swap - she grabbed his breakfast for herself, and slid across her own untouched coffee for him to finish off.

"When are you thinking of going? It's... down to you, of course, but... I'd rather move somewhere Alexander doesn't know about, I suppose. At least until he's charged for a few years."
 
"He knows where my dad lives, he visited him," Tim replied in a whisper as he stared down at the coffee. "I don't know where else to go except New York. Maybe I'll move up North, yeah? Niagra Falls or something? I don't want to move to Texas, too hot. Just - I want to move somewhere quiet, for awhile. I don't have any money, though, Sandra. I have some saved up, but it's nowhere near enough to pay for a new place."

Getting to his feet, Tim decided he should at least feed his pets. He wanted to do nothing more than sleep, but he hadn't seen the rats in days. The minute he picked one up, he couldn't help but smile as it immediately began to climb up his arms and rest on his shoulder. "At least these guys missed me. It's nice."
 
"But I thought he hadn't-- no matter. I still think we're best off at your Dad's. He sounds like a guy that knows how to defend himself, and you, so... so I'd feel safe there, I think. Besides, he probably won't get bail, let's be honest. We'll be fine here, but I think it'd be beneficial for us to get out the city for a little while," she continued quietly, tapping her fingers on the table with another smile. The situation was stressful and neither of them were in a good way, but it was paramount that she at least try to act normal and content.
 
"... Do you want to pet Shsrtcake? I know you're not a big fan of them, but I promise that she'll cheer you up," he offered as he took a seat on his couch and let the rat happily scurry around Tim's lap and eventually rested in it. Yeah, they weren't the most conventional pets, but it was clear that the rats missed him just as much as he missed them, and he'd happily pile them all on his lap if it weren't for the fear of a Rat King situation. "Just... Let's just sit and enjoy the music. I don't want to talk for awhile.
 
"I'm... I'm alright, hon. She's real cute and all, but rats... no thanks, they're not for me," she murmured, staying sat at the table mulling over a new cup of coffee, though, despite her obvious resistance to the pets, she did genuinely think they were rather cute. She wasn't going to scoop them up and pet them anytime soon, but she could at least recognise their cuteness.

"I... right, no talking, cool," she continued softly, falling silent soon after. She didn't want to force chatter on him, hence why she respectfully fell quite, even if it made her far more nervous. Saying nothing meant she began to think, and all her thoughts were on Alexander and that situation, and so she easily grew anxious. When she was talking, she found it distracted from how messed up her life was right now.
 
Obviously noticing the other's anxiety, he popped on the television to at least fill the apartment with sound. Unlike the other, he wanted to at least be able to close his eyes and calmly review everything. Would it make him cry? Possibly, but this was something he needed to sort out. One plus of Sandra being around was the fact that she'd probably yell at him if he finished the alcohol.

Letting out a well-needed sigh, he did peek an eye open to glance at his friend and offered a faux smile. "... Look, I'm going to head out, okay? Do... You want to come with me, or do you want to stay here? I mean, I know you're scared. I'm scared, too."
 
"Where are you going? I mean, where do you honestly need to go? We... We should relax-- obviously I want to come with you, I won't feel comfortable being left in here alone, so... so sure, I'll come, wherever it is you're off to," she agreed hurriedly-- almost too hurriedly, which clearly showed just how uncomfortable she was alone. She didn't even know where her friend was going, but she knew she wanted to pop along with him - the alternative was too unnerving.
 
"I don't know, the park or something? Maybe I'll go get stuff to make dinner later, or something..." he explained, clearly ready to get and leave the apartment for as long as possible. "I need fresh air, Sandra. I can't be here, I... I have way too many memories here. I think I might even get a hotel, you know? I'll bring the rats, I'm not leaving them alone."
 
"...We could stay at a hotel. I have some savings after my father died, so... so I can pay if you want to do that. Or we could go to your father's, or visit my brother, but you said Texas was too hot. My sister lives down in Brazil now, so that's hardly an option either, s-so-- so let's just go to the park for now," she decided quickly as she made a grab for her baby pink faux fur coat. If any article of clothing could sum Sandra up, it was that - loud, eccentric and unique. As insecure as Sandra could sometimes be, she never doubted herself over her clothing - she wore what she liked, regardless of other people's perceptions of her.

"I mean, imagine how nice Brazil is. Sandy beaches, piña coladas in hand, hot guys... My sister made the right decision. She asked me to move with her, but no, I thought I was just fine in New York," she snorted, rolling her eyes to herself. Then again, if she had accepted, she wouldn't have met Timothy, so everything happened for a reason. "Where does your Dad live? In the state?"
 
"He lives in Binghamton, moved out there after he retired," he explained as he carefully nudged Shortcake back into their extensive cage. "It's far enough that it would take awhile to get there, but not too long that we'd have to stop on the way there. It'll be like a road trip... But, like... Us escaping the idea that my serial killer boyfriend might kill us in our sleep."
 
"Alexander isn't your boyfriend, not now," she reminded bluntly, seeing absolutely no reason to mince her words. Why would her best friend want to continue dating a serial killer? In her eyes, the link between them and Alexander had officially ended, and the only time she planned on seeing him next was in court, when she could provide some statements to make sure he got life in prison for everything he'd done. "I just want to get some fresh air, yeah. Grab a pretzel, perhaps. I'm off my diet now, clearly, so I may as well get what I want."
 
"You didn't need to go on a diet in the first place," he replied quietly as he intentionally avoided any further talk of his - sort of - boyfriend. Sure, he was a serial killer and sure, he killed people with the crazy idea that it was the only way he would make money, but... it wasn't easy to just drop all feelings on a dime, as was evident over the fact that he forgave Alex for punching him in the eye.

He cover said eye shyly when seeing his reflection. The skin was badly swollen still, and his eye seemed to be knocked about a tad, but it was... better. He wanted nothing more than to wrap an eyepatch around the sight. "A pretzel sounds good, yeah."
 
"...Why don't you put on some sunglasses? I mean, the bruise really isn't as bad as it was, hon, but you're clearly self-conscious about it, so go put on some shades. You'll look pretty cool in them, I think. If you've got a hat I can wear, that'd be great, actually," she admitted, watching the other tenderly touch his eye reminding her of her own injury. The crack in her head had been neatly sewed up thanks to Alexander's friend, but she was very self-conscious that the threads could be seen through her blonde hair... and she knew a hat would at least help that.

"I mean, I'm so not a hat person. My head's an odd shape, I'll look comical, but I'd rather that than people stare at me," she continued, pulling her heels back on once fiddling with the broken strap to at least make it look like it wasn't broken. "Or am I just fussing too much? I... I don't want to stress you out, really."
 
"Your hair is too big for a hat," he stated simply after taking a deep inhale. Hesitating, he moved to rummage around the deawer by the door m, the door containing various sunglasses, those of which he had hoarded over the years. Tugging on a pair of some fashionable heart sunglasses, it felt a little weird to realize he had become a million times more stylish after dating Alexander. Motioning the girl to wait, he did wander around the apartment to simply offer a pink ball cap.

"Hope you don't mind, but 90's aesthetic is coming back. A good ok' ball cap and cute pink sweater would still match your cutesy style," he cooed teasingly, before reluctantly tugging his jacket on and heading into the street.
 
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