Work Text:
Scary stares at the painted navy blue wooden door, her eyes are drawn the spots on it that the paint failed to cover, small white splotches that Terry failed to notice. Then her eyes flick to her reflection in the peephole. It's not much but she can see where her pale, freckle-littered skin meets the light brown roots of her hair, and where those roots curl into a washy, fading indigo. Her eyebrow piercing is just cut off by the border of the peephole, but she wishes she could see her eyes. She wants to know if her eyelashes clump together in a way that can be passed off as shitty mascara, or if her bottom lashes are pressed together in dry and salty spikes. She wants to know if the dark makeup under her eyes has smudged and smeared down her cheeks, but of course, she doesn't even raise her hand to rub against her face to check if her hand catches any residue, and if it did, she wouldn't wipe it off on her skirt. She would just stand there.
She can hear chatter from inside, she knows her partners have been waiting for her. She's been pressing ahead all day, not stopping for herself - and after this brief pause, she continues to do so. The rings on her fingers clink against the knob of the front door as she pushes it past the white frame. And into the foreroom of the house that Terry and her mom left her alone in for the weekend.
God. Terry. They were just getting closer, she was opening up to him, and he was so delighted by it. Scary didn't mean to blow up at him, he was prying and she just didn't want to talk. She feels like shit.
Scary enters the living room, her shoes are too bulky to take off at the front door, and frankly she doesn't care enough right now. Lincoln, Taylor, and Normal are sitting on the couch - Scary had messaged them earlier telling them to just wait for her and get settled, as she'll be home from work late. She presses the door closed behind her with a click, she stares at her partners who have been waiting oh so patiently for her return, so they can watch the movie they've been planning to for weeks.
Scary, of course, isn't in the mood.
"Hey Scary! We're just-"
As Taylor begins to greet her, she stomps off to the kitchen. Her big black boots press heavy against the linoleum flooring as she opens the fridge with an aggressive tug of the handle. The chains on her skirt rattle as she bends down to observe the shelves of it for a Dr Pepper. She knows she hears footsteps behind her but she chooses to ignore them as she reaches for the red metal can peeking out behind the carton of almond milk.
"Hey, Scary?" Linc's voice rings out from behind her. She just hums in response, standing up and kicking the fridge closed with the heel of her platforms.
"We um. We made a list of movies we could watch - we were waiting for you-"
"I know."
She interrupts with a groan. Leaning against the counter she pulls on the cap of the can an Scary stares at the painted navy blue wooden door, her eyes are drawn the spots on the door that the paint failed to cover, small white splotches that Terry failed to notice. Then her eyes flick to her reflection in the peephole. It's not much but she can see where her pale, freckle-littered skin meets the light brown roots of her hair, and where those light brown roots curl into a light, fading indigo. Her eyebrow piercing is just cut off by the border of the peephole, but she wishes she could see her eyes. She wants to know if her eyelashes clump together in a way that can be passed off as shitty mascara, or if her bottom lashes are pressed together in dry and salty spikes. She wants to know if the dark makeup under her eyes has smudged and smeared down her cheeks, but of course, she doesn't even raise her hand to rub against her cheek to check if her hand catches any residue, and if it did, she wouldn't wipe it off on her skirt. She would just stand there.
She can hear chatter from inside, she knows her partners have been waiting for her. She's been pressing ahead all day, not stopping for herself - and after this brief pause, she continues to press ahead. The rings on her fingers clink against the knob of the front door as she pushes it past the white frame. And into the front room of the house that Terry and her mom left her for the weekend.
God. Terry. They were just getting closer, she was opening up to him, and he was so delighted by it. Scary didn't mean to blow up at him, he was prying and she just didn't want to talk. She feels like shit.
Scary enters the living room, her shoes are too bulky to take off at the front door, and frankly she doesn't care enough right now. Lincoln, Taylor, and Normal are sitting on the couch - Scary had messaged them earlier telling them to just wait for her and get settled in, as she'll be home from work late. She presses the door closed behind her with a click, she stares at her partners who have been waiting oh so patiently for her return, so they can watch the movie they've been planning on for weeks.
Scary, of course, isn't in the mood.
"Hey Scary! We're just-"
As Taylor begins to greet her, she stomps off to the kitchen. Her big black boots press heavy against the linoleum flooring as she opens the fridge with an aggressive tug of the handle. The chains on her skirt rattle as she bends down to observe the shelves of this fridge for a Dr Pepper. She knows she hears footsteps behind her but she chooses to ignore it as she reaches for the red metal can peeking out behind the carton of almond milk.
"Hey, Scary?" Linc's voice peeks out from behind her. She just hums in response, standing up and kicking the fridge close with the heel of her platforms.
"We um. We made a list of movies we could watch - we were waiting for you-"
"I know."
She interrupts with a groan. Leaning against the kitchen counter she pulls on the cap of the can and lets it fizz up and blanket the top of the can.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asks. His voice steady and tender as he approaches from behind, his hand rests gently on her upper back.
"I'm fine." She says through clenched teeth, gripping the marble countertop.
"Okay honey, um. Take your time." He pauses, retracting his touch and backing up a bit. The petname is familiar and comforting in her ears. "We ordered pizza for when you're ready to join us."
Scary knows she needs to get better at communicating. It's something she's (reluctantly) discussed with her therapist extensively... and with her parents... and with her partners. But it's so hard when she's upset like this. She's been getting better, and her partners have noticed, even praised her for it, in which she bashfully looked to the floor, calling them all sappy assholes.
She turns around to look at Linc, her many necklaces clink against the various pins and buttons on her black work vest. She sees him standing in the doorframe and she looks down to her shoes.
"Do you want to talk?"
She doesn't know. Maybe. She does. It feels embarrassing. Too sappy.
"No."
That's a lie, one told many times before to dismiss that same question.
Linc lets out a small sigh. He continues to stand there. He knows that when she's given a minute, it's easier for her.
"I just had a shit day."
"Oh?"
"The fucking lights went out at the shop for like a solid hour? And my boss couldn't even call the fucking - guy - to come in and help so I had to temporarily close the store, get on a wobbly ass ladder, and follow some shitty half-torn instruction book thing! And all the while my boss was telling me I can't take too long because it was our busiest hour of the day! And then when I was done! No, "thank you Scary" he just told me to get back to work! Not to mention I was the only employee there because Jamie decided not to show up today!"
"What an asshole. I'm sorr-"
He's cut off by her continuing.
"Oh and! This morning when I was getting ready, Terry was saying goodbye right? We watched a movie together last night because we were supposed to be like... bonding. Or whatever, and it went well! You know we've been doing better lately,"
"Yeah, it's great!"
"Yeah well no! I wasn't in the mood to talk this morning, I just wanted my coffee, but y'know... I humored him. And he just. Would not stop talking! He started talking about his dad-... step-dad and how like... he's so happy that he and I are getting closer because he knows how it feels to like... not like your stepdad or whatever... and I hated it! I asked him to stop and he just gave me that 'Sorry but...' and then continued! I told him to shut up and- yknow he seemed hurt, and then said he's just trying to show how much he appreciates our relationship or whatever- and I yelled at him. And then he left. And now hes gone the whole weekend and like- I feel like I just fucked up our progress." Her voice shakes on those last few words and she wants to slap herself. She mentally reminds herself that this is better than snapping at her boyfriend. This is better than ignoring all of her partners.
"Well... I'm sure he's... I'm sure he isn't mad. And you two can discuss it when he gets home! He wouldn't hold a grudge against you... he never has, and I'm sure if you explain to him how you felt, he would be understanding. Progress is progress, and he knows you love him - you know he loves you. It wasn't... awesome... to snap at him but... we all make mistakes."
Linc approaches again, his hands resting gently on her hips. His thumb rubs against the canvas material of her work vest as she nods. They press their foreheads together, and Linc feels her long multicolor hair that swoops in front of her one eye - tickle his nose. He brings one of his hands up behind Scary's head, right underneath her half-up ponytail. He presses a small kiss to her forehead.
"I'm really happy you felt like talking about it, Normal and Taylor would be proud of you too." Scary looks away at Linc's kind words. She's embarrassed by that. It does help her, these positive reassurances are one of the things that have been making it easier for her to talk.
"Wanna head out to the living room now? Taylor picked Spirited Away... Normal wants to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas..."
Linc begins to back away, gesturing to the living room.
"And you chose Garfield."
She smirks, following behind Linc.
"A Tail of Two Kitties," he gently adds.
"Idiot." She says with love dripping from her voice. She follows Linc back to the living room, Dr Pepper in hand.
When they re-enter, Normal is laying on the couch with Taylor flopped on top of him, in front of them on the coffee table is a big pepperoni pizza, to the side is a plate with two slices of naked pizza, the meat and cheese peeled off leaving just the sauce and bread - courtesy of Normal.
Normal is wearing a big grey sweater, the same that has been cradling him throughout all of highschool, under it is a light blue shirt with a visible stain on the neckline. He's sporting one sock with pugs dancing over a blue background, and one plain white sock with a hole torn revealing his pinky toe, he's wearing khaki cargo shorts with black backup shorts under them, poking a little past the hem of the cargos.
Taylor however is wearing a black tank top with a Neon Genesis Evangelion print on the front over his chest, his shaggy, horribly cut black hair is spread out messily over Normal's chest. He's wearing black pajama pants with various Pokémon patterning the legs. He is not wearing socks.
When Normal sees Scary and Linc enter, he sits up abruptly, earning a whined protest from Taylor - who is startled into sitting up as well.
"Oh hey Scary, Linc! Come have some pizza!" Normal pats the couch next to him where Taylor just was. Scary follows Linc over to the couch, he sits on the floor next to the table for easy access to the pizza, and Scary sits between Taylor and Normal. Taylor is flicking through the list they've made on the TV when Normal leans over to Scary. "You feeling okay?"
He whispers against her shoulder. She nods a quick response.
"I talked to Linc about it. I'm fine." It's always hard to tell if she's honest when she says that last line, but Normal knows he will just make her feel bad if he presses on. Instead he just taps her shoulder, she nods subtly and allows him to shimmy off her work vest. She is new to this - people being so gentle with her - she's not new with people trying, but she's never really allowed anyone to treat her so tenderly before. Normal drapes her vest on the arm of the couch beside him.
They end up watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, much to Taylor's objections - and Scary feels much better surrounded by her partners.