#Maybe he just has a lot of extra arms lying around and bribed Parts and Services to help him out idk askdshjg

[lil-lemon-snails]

Looks like you're caught in his web~

[datheetjoella]

Fantober 2020, Day 31: Halloween

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Part: 31/31 (read the full collection here) Word count: 3,105 Tags: Canonverse, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Costume Party, Costume Regret Read at: AO3, FFn, or right here!

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What had seemed to be an amazing idea initially was quickly becoming one of the greatest regrets of Haruka's life.

Between the stares, both on the train ride here and at their destination, the immobility and the goosebumps that were erupting all over his skin, Haruka concluded that living the dream was not worth it. He should've stayed home like he intended when he was first invited.

"It looks great, Haru, but isn't it a bit… inconvenient?" Asahi asked, raising his voice so Haruka could hear him above the loud bass of the music. Asahi was clad in a long white lab coat with a thick black belt, matching gloves and goggles and a grey wig to complete the mad scientist-look. If Asahi was the one disapproving of a choice he made, then Haruka screwed up really badly.

"Did Makoto carry you all the way here? Vampire-Kisumi asked, lisping through his fake fangs. "I think my uncle has a wheelbarrow you can borrow on the way back."

His friends laughed and if Haruka could stand right now, he would've strangled Kisumi. Why was Makoto taking so long to get some drinks and why had he even agreed to come here?

When they were at Marron a few weeks ago, Kisumi told them he was planning a Halloween party at his uncle's house; the Shigino family loved parties and every reason to hold one was as good as the next. But Kisumi wouldn't be Kisumi if he didn't add his own flair to a party and Halloween was the perfect occasion to go nuts.

The second Haruka heard of it, he decided he wasn't going and when Kisumi said it would be a costume party, his resolve strengthened. No matter how Kisumi pleaded, assured him it would be a small get-together with friends, tried to bribe him with a dozen cans of mackerel, Haruka wouldn't budge.

Despite not being big on parties either, Makoto had promised to come. He was a huge people-pleaser and if he was invited to something, the chances of him turning it down were very slim. It didn't sit quite well with Haruka that Makoto would be in such an environment by himself, without him being there to glare away anyone who would try to flirt with Makoto, but it wasn't like he could forbid him to go. He didn't want to, either. Makoto was an adult who was free to make his own choices and even if he could be a bit oblivious at times, their friends would be there to protect him if something happened.

But the thought lingered in Haruka's head and the closer the date came, the more he considered going. If Makoto were to outright ask him to come, then he wouldn't be able to refuse, but it didn't even get that far. When he saw the ad for the Halloween costume of his dreams, he was sold.

And that was how Haruka found himself on Kisumi's uncle's couch on October 31st, surrounded by approximately sixty people he didn't know - so much for it being a small get-together with friends - in nothing more than a mermaid tail and glittery scale-makeup adorning his cheeks and arms.

"Aren't you cold, Nanase?" his teammate, Suzuki Ryota, asked. He'd gone all out and wore a Pokémon trainer costume, complete with a Pokéball and a Pikachu plushie. "I brought an extra jacket, you can wear it if you want."

"It's fine," Haruka said through clenched teeth, trying his best not to shiver as to not admit defeat. His coat was lying somewhere in a pile in Kisumi's bedroom, but he had chosen this costume so he was going to commit to it for the whole night. That was the burden he had to carry. If only he had called the town committee back in Iwatobi and asked if they could've lent him the Iwatobi-chan mascot sumo suit. Then he would've lived a dream that wasn't as susceptible to critical stares and teasing remarks. Not being recognisable would've been a bonus too.

More people entered the room, but this time, they weren't strangers - whether it was to his delight or not wasn't clear yet. With whiskers and black noses drawn on their faces, Ikuya and Hiyori came in with matching cat-ears, collars with bells and tails. The instant Ikuya spotted him, his eyes widened in wonder and he sped over to his side with Hiyori following closely behind him.

"Ikuya, HIyori, I'm so glad you could make it!" Kisumi said, but Ikuya didn't even notice the host.

"Haru…" he mumbled, "Your costume is amazing. Where did you get it?"

"I don't know, somewhere online."

"And your makeup, did you do it yourself or did Makoto do it?"

"I did it," Haruka said. If Makoto had done it, it probably would've looked like smears of light blue blood on his face instead of scales.

"Speaking of, where is Makoto?" Hiyori asked while looking around the room. Although they hadn't become friends until recently, Hiyori had already learnt Makoto and Haruka were practically joined at the hip and thus a package-deal.

"His Highness is getting drinks for his beached boyfriend," Asahi said with a grin.

"Makoto is dressed as a prince?" Ikuya asked in disbelief, mouth slightly open and fire twinkling in his auburn eyes. "Are you The Little Mermaid and the prince?"

Kisumi said, "I suppose it's The Little Merman in Haru's case."

Haruka shrugged. It wasn't like he had specifically aimed for The Little Mermaid, but when he showed Makoto the light blue tale, Makoto had joked that they could wear couple's costumes and that he could be the prince. Only a fool wouldn't want to behold the sight of Makoto in a fancy prince suit, so that idea had received an immediate green light from Haruka.

But now, it wasn't his costume solely that he was regretting. Makoto was already too handsome for his own good normally, but this outfit enhanced his natural charm, making him damn near irresistible. Haruka was very much present now, but he couldn't do anything but watch as others tried to flirt with an unsuspecting Makoto. These people would throw themselves at him the minute he left Haruka's side as if they thought 'let's talk to this hot guy now his weird fish friend isn't here'.

Sufficient to say, Haruka dug his own grave in multiple ways.

But someone who didn't share that viewpoint was Ikuya, whose gaze drifted from Haruka's tail to his cat-clothes and his chest deflated in a manner that could only be described as envious. "How nice."

"Your costumes are very nice too," Kisumi said and the fake blood at the corners of his mouth made his smirk look even more devious than usual. "And a lot more practical."

"Yeah, but they're not as nice as Haru and Makoto's."

"Anyway, are there any snacks?" Hiyori changed the subject with a smile, though there was a clear glint of jealousy behind his glasses too. If Kisumi threw another costume party next year, Haruka would bet good money on what Ikuya and Hiyori would be wearing.

"There's a large table at the back with food and drinks," Asahi said, "Come, I'll show you."

As Asahi led Ikuya and Hiyori through the crowd, the group surrounding Haruka dispersed, leaving him alone with Kisumi. Haruka sighed. Could this night get any worse?

"Don't be so sulky, Haru," he said, "It's a party, try to have fun a little."

Haruka scoffed. "Maybe I would have fun if you had the cans of mackerel you promised me."

Kisumi laughed. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten about that. You'll have your cans before the end of next week, and I'll make sure I have some mackerel at my next party for you too."

His next party. As if Haruka would even attend another one of these parties after such a disastrous night. He might've been stupid enough to come here in a fishtail, but he wasn't that much of an idiot.

"To make it up to you for not having mackerel now, I'll go find Makoto for you. I'll tell him to hurry back to your side," Kisumi said, grabbing the cape of his suit and dramatically waving it around himself as he turned to walk off. This vampire-act of his was a bit too convincing. Maybe he was actually a bloodsucker.

Left to his devices, Haruka scanned the crowd to check if Makoto was among them somewhere. Who were all these people and how did Kisumi even know them? He'd been an amicable guy since middle school, but in the few months that they had lived here, Haruka had only met two, maybe three new people he would consider his friends and they were all from the swim team. With this many acquaintances, Kisumi could easily fill up twenty basketball teams.

Perhaps Kisumi was more like a spider after all. Once you got ensnared in his web of friendship, there was no way out.

At last, Makoto finally emerged from the masses and Haruka's heart sighed in relief. His golden crown was still firmly placed upon his brown locks and against his neat blue jacket, that was complete with epaulettes and a sash, he clutched two cups and a plastic plate of food. His beaming smile returned the instant their eyes met.

"Sorry it took so long," Makoto said as he plopped down next to Haruka on the couch. "All these people were trying to talk to me and I had a hard time shutting down the conversations. If it weren't for Kisumi, I'd probably still be stuck." Makoto handed him one of the cups. "Here. There isn't any water, so I got us barley tea and I didn't know what kind of snacks you wanted, so I got a little of everything."

"Thanks," Haruka said and he took a sip. "Sorry for making you do all of this for me."

"It's alright, I don't mind," Makoto said, his sunny smile not losing its radiance. "There are so many people here, though. I thought it would be just us, Asahi, Ikuya, Hiyori and maybe a couple of Kisumi's other friends."

"I guess these are only his dearest friends. If this house had been even bigger, he would've invited two-hundred of his closest friends."

Although it was hard to hear through the booming music, Makoto giggled. The warm sound melted Haruka's frigid heart a little. "Kisumi has always been that guy who gets along with everyone, huh?"

"So are you," Haruka said, as was proven by all the people who flocked to him on his way to the snacks table and back.

"Maybe so, but I do prefer an actually small group of friends together at once. Otherwise, it gets too loud and overwhelming."

Haruka nodded. He loved all his friends immensely, but if there were more than seven of them present at once - excluding Makoto - then he would go home with a massive headache and a longing for the water's clutch. Something that was bound to happen after tonight, too.

When Haruka reached over Makoto's lap to grab a handful of crisps to kill time with, Makoto's hand caught his wrist.

"Haru, you're freezing!" Makoto said, eyebrows raised in concern, "Here, take my jacket."

"It's fine, I'm not that cold," Haruka said, nonchalantly stuffing the crisps into his mouth, but Makoto saw right through his lies.

"Yes, you are." Makoto lifted the sash over his head and unbuttoned his jacket, wrapping it around Haruka's shoulders.

"This ruins both of our costumes."

"No, it doesn't," Makoto said with a clever grin, "It improves our costumes. You are a merman who I, the prince, found washed up on the shoreline behind my castle. I saved you and offered you my jacket to warm you up. It fits perfectly."

It was a nice fragment from their fairytale, but the weight pressing down on Haruka's stomach didn't crumble nor ebb away. "I shouldn't have picked this costume."

"Why not?" Makoto asked, "It looks great and it really suits you."

"Wearing it is too much trouble. Everyone is staring at me and I can't even go to the bathroom by myself."

"I understand that it's not easy to wear, but since when have you cared about what other people think?" Makoto put his hand over his free one and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't, it's just annoying…" Haruka said as he averted his eyes, but he didn't pull away from Makoto's touch. "Besides, I'm a bother to you."

Although he couldn't see it, Haruka could almost hear the frown that twisted Makoto's handsome face. "Who says you're a bother to me?"

"No one, but I am," Haruka said, "You have to carry me everywhere, you have to get us drinks and snacks and you can't have fun because you're stuck here on the couch with me. And now you even have to give up your own costume for me."

"Who says I'm not having fun?" Makoto said with his gentle smile. "I already told you that I don't mind carrying you or getting you snacks, and I'm not much of a dancer anyway so it's not like there's any other place I would be at than the couch."

Even if he said that, it still left a bitter taste in Haruka's mouth. What college student wanted to be their boyfriend's babysitter at a party? Makoto was just being selfless so he wouldn't feel bad about his ego-centric outfit choice.

"You know, I was looking forward to seeing you in your mermaid tail," Makoto said, so softly Haruka almost hadn't caught it. "So it's a shame that you're not enjoying wearing it."

"How so?" Haruka asked, turning his head to face Makoto again.

"When you saw the ad, you were so excited to wear it. Excited enough to want to come to this party even though you hate parties," Makoto said, chuckling a little in reminiscence. "It was so cute and it reminded me of when we were in kindergarten. When the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, you immediately said you wanted to be a mermaid. I still remember how disappointed you looked when some of the other kids told you that was impossible."

A wave of nostalgia showered over Haruka at that memory. Although they were so small back then, Haruka remembered it vividly. When the teacher explained that she meant what occupation they would like to have as an adult rather than a dream species they wanted to become, he had pouted for the rest of the day. Because he liked helping his mom with cooking, he begrudgingly drew a chef instead.

"When I saw the disheartened look on your face, I wanted to make you feel better and I thought to myself that I would do anything to make your dream come true," Makoto continued, "And now, the opportunity for that dream to become reality finally arrived. I was so relieved when you decided to come because I wouldn't feel comfortable being here without you, and I felt like it was a mutual exchange: I help you out with your mermaid tail, you keep me company."

Haruka hadn't thought of it like that, but it wasn't necessary for Makoto to give something in return for him tagging along. For Makoto, Haruka would do anything, even if it was something he despised as much as going to parties with deafening music and loads of strangers.

"But even if it wasn't a mutual exchange, then I still wouldn't mind carrying you. As long as it makes you happy, I'd carry you to the end of the world and back," Makoto said, rubbing his thumb over Haruka's knuckles. "So I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying yourself. We can go home if you want. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

A tiny smile stretched Haruka's cheeks at Makoto's endless kindness and devotion. His sweet words untied the knot in Haruka's stomach and suddenly, he didn't feel so misplaced anymore. "We already went through the trouble of dressing up and coming here, we might as well stay a little longer." Haruka shrugged, trying to regain an aloof demeanour. "It's only for one night anyway."

"Thanks, Haru," Makoto said and he leaned closer to press a kiss to Haruka's lips, but when he realised where they were, he hesitated.

Although they weren't keen on public displays of affection, there were so many people here that probably no one was batting an eye at them. A quick little kiss wouldn't hurt.

But as their lips met in a tender kiss, Haruka decided to prolong it, because there was no sign more obvious to show that Makoto was taken. With a dash of luck, some of the people who were trying to flirt with Makoto before caught a glimpse of them and received the message to back off.

After a couple of seconds, Makoto pulled back. He put his hand on Haruka's leg, caressing the fabric of his tail with his fingertips. "Even if it's a bit inconvenient because you can't move freely, the tail does look beautiful on you."

"Thanks," Haruka said as he ran his gaze over Makoto's figure. "The princely garbs look good on you too. Don't throw them out after tonight."

Hearty laughter left Makoto's lips. "Alright, if you keep your tail, too."

"Of course," Haruka said, "Maybe we can continue this fairytale later then, play out what happens after the prince finds the merman and gives him his jacket."

"That's not a bad idea," Makoto said with a flame of wanton igniting in his pupils. "We can keep these outfits for at-home usage. At the next Halloween party, we can dress up as something more convenient and conventional, like witches or cats."

"Ikuya and Hiyori already claimed cats. Maybe we should do ghosts, then we only have to cut eyes and mouth-holes out of old sheets and we're done."

"So we're going from high effort to the bottom of the barrel, huh?" Makoto snorted. "We'll think about it later, we still have 365 days left to decide. For now, let's enjoy this party and these costumes for as long as they last."

"Yeah," Haruka agreed as he grabbed a bat-cookie from the plate. But before he took a bite, he mumbled, "Thanks, Makoto."

He was blessed with another sunny smile. "Happy Halloween, Haru."

Their lips met in another kiss, that was brief yet immensely loving.

Even if Haruka got tricked into coming to a party, as long as Makoto was with him, every day was a treat.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: The Elephant in the Room ch.1 (baon)

Summary: Jeff has started working at the Embassy. He's got a new job, a new car, and a new place to live. Now if only the rest of his life could fall into order, that'd be great. Any time now...any time at all...

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Prejudice Against Monsters, Angst,  Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Suicidal Thoughts,  Mental Health Issues, Friendship

Notes: Don’t skip the tags, okay? Not wanting to trigger anyone. 

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

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If someone on the street had told Jeff a year ago that not only would he be working at the Monster Embassy, but he’d be living in New New Home with a Monster as a roommate and helping out his best friend (who was also a Monster and only called him Andy) on the weekends with weird experiments to entertain the local kids, well. Truthfully, if anyone had tried to tell him that fortune on the corner of Euclid Avenue, Jeff probably would have walked a little faster and hopped on the next bus.

Weird to think it was only a little over year ago. Not that they’d gone out for an anniversary dinner or anything. That would’ve been weird, yeesh, opening up some champagne to celebrate their ‘didn’t let someone kill you’ moment. Come to think of it, it was probably a good thing no one brought it up because that seemed like exactly the kind of thing Stretch would celebrate, complete with paper hats and balloons. Maybe next year they could celebrate getting arrested together, instead.

For today though, Jeff was on a mission.

He’d spent the morning at the Embassy with Cathryn, one of his co-workers in Public Relations, a short, plump Monster who distinctly resembled a cat. So far, everyone was very nice, and if Cathryn was a little giggly and a lot gossipy, she was also very good at her job. A knack for information gathering was not necessarily a bad thing in this department.

This afternoon he was supposed to be heading to ‘Classic Books’ to wrap up everything with Thomas. He’d already be on his way except Stretch was supposed to be coming with him and he was currently late. Not that it was his fault; Stretch had suggested they meet in the middle at the Beanery instead of Jeff driving all the way back to New New Home and it looked like the bus was running behind.

Not that Jeff would have minded making the drive. His new little car ran like a dream and if he still felt a little guilty having it, he soothed it with the knowledge that he was going to work his ass off at the Embassy to make up for it. It’d been a long time since he’d driven much and he’d never owned a car of his own. But there was something freeing about having a car; no waiting for buses that only went to certain areas and left him to walk through the heat or the cold, slushy mornings.

Or ran late.

He could go out whatever the time was without worrying about making the last bus, down the roads of Ebott and to the Embassy. Which, okay, was pretty much as far as he’d driven so far, today would be his first trip downtown and he was impatient to get on it.

Eh, it was all right, though. He was pretty sure it was less the time saving and more the coffee behind Stretch’s suggestion. There were already two cups sitting in the drink holders, still too hot to drink, but that was fine. This time, he was the one who got to buy the coffee and Stretch wasn’t here to stop him. That was how friendship was supposed to be, give and take, fighting over the check and actually being able to pay it. This time, Jeff was playing to win, and Stretch was going to have to deal.

Thinking of which, the bus pulled up just then, and people streamed off, Humans and Monsters alike headed for the Beanery. Stretch was about a head above everyone else, clambering down the stairs on the bus, almost tripping as he tried to pull out his headphones at the same time. From the sidewalk, he looked around briefly, brightening as he caught sight of Jeff. He waved across the parking lot and then he was suddenly there, right next to the car and hopping into the passenger side. Jeff had seen that trick about a hundred times now and it was still startling. He wondered what other Humans thought when they saw it, wondered if the PR department worried over it.

“hey, handy andy!” Stretch said cheerily, sliding into the seat. He only made it about halfway, grimaced immediately and reaching down for the lever to push the seat back as far as it could go. It was enough for him to settle his legs so they weren’t crammed into the dashboard, even if it almost put him in the backseat.

“Sorry,” Jeff chuckled, “no one else has ridden with me yet.” The seat probably wouldn’t get moved too much again, come to think of it, almost everyone Jeff knew was well over six feet tall. Then again, Blue, Sans, and Red would all be lying if they tried to claim they topped the ruler at five feet, so depending on who needed a ride, it might get quite a workout.

“it’s all good,” Stretch said dismissively. His eye lights landed on the coffee cups and lit up, “ooh, sacrificial beverages, whatcha get me?”

Jeff tapped one of the cups with a finger, “Pumpkin spice latte with an extra shot and sprinkles. I know that’s not quite up to your usual standards, but I didn't want to chance being creative. Only took Debbie like thirty seconds to make.”

“of course it did,” Stretch scoffed, “she’s a professional.” He snatched up the cup greedily and took a deep swallow, heedlessly of the steam still pouring out of the little drinking hole. Honestly, being able to eat or drink something no matter how hot was a damned handy trick, a seriously underestimated superpower. Jeff had already burned his tongue on his first sip.

He left Stretch to savor his rich caffeination and started the car. But before he pulled away, he glanced automatically to make sure Stretch had his seat belt on. Edge was infecting him with his protectiveness, and he trusted Stretch, but he’d promised. From the way Stretch rolled his eye lights, he caught the look, but he didn’t say anything, only moved his arms pointedly so Jeff could see the strap across his chest.

Good enough.

The noontime traffic wasn’t too bad and Jeff guided them through it carefully, not quite confident enough in his driving skills to relax completely, especially with a passenger. Not that Stretch seemed very worried, he only chatted about his week between sips of coffee, and Jeff couldn’t help laughing as he heard about Edge’s chicken rescue mission.

“…i mean, seriously, a chicken and about six kids, all following behind him like some kind of demented conga line,” Stretch laughed. “edge in the lead and you know i love him, but he always looks so serious, i swear, sometimes i think he’s afraid he’ll give himself another crack if he smiles in public. so there he is, leading them straight-faced as an accountant and nugget is on his heels like a lovesick idiot. me, i have to bribe them with food to get them to come with me anywhere and they’d follow edge into a kfc.”

Jeff laughed too, imagining Edge solemnly leading a chicken along the street. “Wish I could’ve seen that.”

“yeah, i never have my damn phone on me when he decides to get up to the chucklefucks. pretty sure it’s a conspiracy.” He took a long sip of his coffee and Jeff took advantage of the pause to ask a question of his own.

“How did your visit with Alphys go?” He’d already known about it from Blue, but to his surprise, so did Cathryn. Gossip about Stretch was prime material for the Public Relations department, which was a little unnerving until Catty pointed out that whether he liked it or not, Stretch was an unofficial symbol of Monsterkind. His Twitter following was massive as was his Instagram, and he’d been in the news several times now over attacks on Monsters. If his health problems ever went public, it would be plastered across the internet. The P.R. department needed to be ready if that ever happened to handle any fallout.

Knowing that made Jeff a little uncomfortable and that was a conversation he wanted to have with Edge. He wasn’t about to allow his friendship with Stretch to be used in any capacity and he wanted that to be clear from the start.

Stretch scowled at the question, hunching down in his seat. “fine.” That was a pretty firm hint that he didn’t want to talk about it, but to Jeff’s surprise, he went on with an impressive amount of disgust, “she thinks i should quit smoking.”

“Really? Why?" Jeff had always been under the assumption that cigarettes didn’t really have much of an effect on skeleton Monsters, unless—he involuntarily glanced at Stretch’s midsection, hidden beneath his baggy sweatshirt.

Stretch paused with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth, staring at him with narrowed sockets, then burst out laughing. "holy shit, no! you knucklehead, i'm not pregnant!"

Jeff cringed down over the steering wheel. Well, that was a year’s worth of embarrassment all dumped out at once. “Fuck, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even thought that.”

"it's okay," Stretch was still snickering. "i get it, it's a little confusing for humans. not all monsters have kiddos in what you guys would consider a traditional way. just for reference though, nope, can't get pregnant, my anatomy don't work that way. neither does edge’s fyi, so you can skip picturing him in a maternity getup. can’t wait to tell him you think he’s enough of a stud to knock me up.” He grimaced then, a shadow eclipsing his humor. “actually, never mind that. let’s keep it between us.”

“Okay.” Every time Jeff got answers from Stretch, he ended up with a basketful of more questions. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“more personal than checking if i’m preggers?” Stretch grinned, “i’ve never stopped you before.”

“Why don’t you work at the Embassy?” Stretch blinked slowly, his good humor visibly fading, and Jeff hastily added, “I mean, everyone else in your family does, even Red. I only wondered, it’s not a big deal if you—"

“eh, not really my thing,” Stretch said carelessly. He shifted to look out the window, his fingers absently peeling away the cardboard sleeve around his cup in long ribbons. “they do good stuff but i…” Stretch trailed away and ducked his head, swallowing hard, and that casual façade faltered. For a moment, there was nothing but the radio, playing a soft counterpoint of incongruous pop music as Stretch spoke again, strangled and low, “because when we first got here i was teetering on the edge of suicide. took a while to get past that and once i decided jumping off a bridge wasn’t for me, well. didn’t really feel like starting a nine to five.” Stretch shrugged. “the place i came from wasn’t so great.”

Jeff swallowed hard against the knot of emotion that settle into his throat, the taste in his mouth like metal shavings. He knew Stretch had some issues; he’d told Jeff himself that he had PTSD, but not why. It was probably shitty the way he managed to keep bringing it up, but somehow, he couldn’t feel too bad about it. That Stretch had been honest with him meant something and maybe he wasn’t sure exactly what, but it was about being friends. That much he knew.

Stretch abandoned his mutilated coffee cup in the drink holder and let his hand drop on to his knee, the skinny bones clenched into a fist. Jeff hesitated, wavering, then finally reached over and touched the back of it lightly. Immediately, Stretch turned his hand over, his fingers closing over Jeff’s tightly. They pinched a little, unforgiving bone against his fleshy fingers and Jeff didn’t care, only held on tight as he asked quietly, “You mean under the mountain?”

“that, too,” Stretch agreed. His other knee was bouncing, agitated energy spilling out, and Stretch let out a shaky sigh, his grip forcibly relaxing. “anyway, i still have some issues,” he laughed again, sharper, “issues, back issues, microfiche, i’ve got the works. took a while for me to even be able to go to the embassy if you want to know the truth.”

“Why?”

“the labs. had some bad times in another lab. i’m getting past it, doing all the good chitty-chat with my therapist, but i still don’t want to work in one full time. my own little setup is enough.” His smile was still a little weak. “guess i’m meant to be a homebody. good thing edge doesn’t mind.”

“Why would he?” Jeff teased, lightly, “he’s got the good end of the deal, he gets to come home to you!”

Stretch’s next laugh was more honest. “thanks, andy.”

“No problem,” Jeff said. He had more questions, always more, and what did this have to do with Stretch's issues with cats? Whatever it was, Jeff was letting it go for now. They'd probed deep enough into the back issues of Stretch's mind for the moment. Stretch promised him once that eventually he'd explain everything and Jeff believed him. One of the first things he'd ever learned about Stretch was that he kept his word and if he needed time to do it, Jeff would let him have all he needed.

He let Stretch keep his hand until he was ready to let it go and when he did, instead of shaking away the ache, Jeff picked up his own coffee. It was only lukewarm at this point but that was fine. Pumpkin spice lattes tasted pretty good any which way you drank them.

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tbc

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 33: "Exiting the forest is super simple: all you do is shoot that man in that house..."