Toby Mitchell (likeacannonball) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-03-28 11:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, toby, toby x zach, zach |
Who: Toby and Zach
Where: Zach’s Apartment
When: Tuesday evening, July 10
Status: Complete
After the day that he’d had, Toby knew he couldn’t go home to an empty apartment. He was too paranoid that something else would happen and he knew the nightmares would be bad tonight if he couldn’t somehow clear his mind. He texted Zach on the way out to his car, not entirely sure what his boyfriend had going on that night, but hoping he was free. If not, he’d have to find himself another distraction, or another person to crash with, but Zach was by far his favorite. Just got off work. Can I come over? I’ve had a day. It was an understatement, but he didn’t feel like he could drop ‘I got attacked in an elevator by a ghost and it triggered my PTSD’ over a text. Zach might get it, but it still felt a bit over-dramatic. Plus, he wanted Zach to feel like he could say no if he had something going on and if Toby told him the truth he’d feel obligated to say yes. Toby took a deep breath as he climbed in the car and started it up. He’d start heading towards Zach’s place now and change direction if necessary.
Zach had absolutely nothing going on except some light gaming. He wasn’t even streaming, just playing for himself and enjoying the puzzles when his phone went off. He grinned when he saw it was a text from Toby, then quickly made a fretful noise as he read the actual message. Having ‘a day’ at work sounded bad, especially for a nurse. Zach quickly thumbed in a reply -- of course! Come on! -- and saved his game so he could get ready. Not that hosting Toby took a lot of work or anything, his boyfriend was super laid back and cool, but Zach at least wanted to brush his teeth and run a comb through his hair so he looked halfway decent. On his way to the bathroom to do just that, he poked his head in to let Jai know that Toby was coming over after a bad day and he might stay the night. The warning probably wasn’t completely necessary, but Zach wanted to keep them informed of each other when it seemed appropriate. Then he ducked into the bathroom to freshen up a bit.
It was sweet that Zach felt the need to get ready for him, though Toby would have found it highly unnecessary. He was coming off a twelve hour shift and was nowhere near fresh himself, but he didn’t think Zach would care. If he did, maybe he could coax him into the shower with him. Or maybe Zach would let him use his shower and then they could cuddle. Honestly, Toby didn’t care, so long as he didn’t end up alone. He hadn’t even thought about Jai until he’d already parked and heading towards the door, but quickly decided it wasn’t an issue. Zach would have checked with him, or at least let him know he was heading over. If he had a problem with it, they could head back to Toby’s place later. It was too much to think about, so Toby pushed it away for the moment and knocked on Zach’s door.
Zach was ready and quick to answer the door after the knock, flashing Toby a smile as he opened it. He immediately noticed that his boyfriend looked tired, but he’d just come from work so that wasn’t too unusual. He still looked great to Zach, even tired, and he moved in to steal a quick kiss before he backed up to give him room to come in. “Hey hey,” Zach greeted him. “Had a day, huh? Can I get you anything?” Jai was in his room with the door closed, so Zach didn’t feel the need to be super quiet or anything. It might have felt awkward to someone else, but Zach was much more focused on making Toby’s night better than any weirdness between all of them. It was such a Real Boyfriend Thing to be a source of comfort after a crappy day, and he wanted to do that for Toby.
Just seeing Zach smiling there at the door made Toby feel better about the day, a little boost of dopamine that his brain desperately needed. He kissed Zach hello, then followed him inside, his eyes flicking to Jai’s closed door. Was he home? Did he mind Toby being over? It was more than he could juggle at the moment. “A hug first,” he said with a tired smile before wrapping up Zach in his arms. He’d been wanting to do this for hours, and when he shut his eyes, some of the tension drained out of him. “Thanks for letting me come over,” he said as he released him from the hug. “I know we didn’t plan anything, but… Um… I could use some water.” He could use some dinner too, but he hadn’t planned on Zach feeding him. He hadn’t planned on anything, really, other than getting somewhere safe.
Zach embraced him firmly while the hug lasted, almost able to feel the stress in his body. It concerned him a little, but he kind of assumed that having a bad day as a nurse meant being a participant in other people’s worst days. “Dude, no thanks necessary, you’re always welcome over here, especially after bad days,” Zach reassured him. He took Toby’s hand to lead him to the kitchen, then released it to fetch a glass and pour him some cold water out of the pitcher in the fridge. “Are you hungry too? We’ve got like ... cereal, peanut butter, sandwich stuff, Hot Pockets, pizza rolls ...?” It wasn’t a gourmet kitchen by any means, but Zach was willing to whip up anything he could that Toby might want. He handed him the water and gestured for him to sit down at their small kitchen table.
The foods Zach listed off made Toby smile, reminding him that Zach was a bit younger than him and probably not as well versed in the kitchen. Their kitchen staples were vastly different. Luckily, everything he listed off sounded good at the moment, seeking more comfort than nutritional value. “Peanut butter or pizza rolls sound amazing,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you cook for me. I just wasn’t thinking food when I got in the car.” If he’d been smart, he’d have swung by somewhere and gotten take out. Now that he was there, he didn’t want to be a nuisance. He took a seat at the kitchen table and sighed, glad to try and relax for a moment. “What did you have going on tonight? I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”
It didn’t feel like a nuisance to Zach at all, he was happy to be able to do things for his boyfriend when he needed some support. Not many people relied on Zach for things, probably for good reason, and it was nice to feel needed, even in some small way. “Pfft, all it takes is a microwave babe, and I’m hungry too,” Zach said as he got a plate down to load it up with pizza rolls. It was junk food, yeah, but sometimes after a bad day that was what really hit the spot. “I didn’t really have anything going on,” he went on as he moved to the freezer and then the microwave. “Just chilling and gaming a bit, you know? Nothing special.” Once the machine was whirring to heat up their food, Zach came in closer to put an arm around Toby’s shoulders and kiss his curly head. “You wanna talk about any of it?” he murmured. “Or just want me to be distracting?”
Toby watched Zach bustle around the kitchen, happy to just be close to him. He had such positive energy that maybe he’d chase the nightmares away just by proximity. He thought about keeping the events of the day to himself, but there was a high chance it’d come back to him later, while he was sleeping. Zach deserved to at least be warned. “I can talk about it,” he said, offering Zach a small smile. “I ate lunch with Adrian today. After lunch, we were on the elevator and it—it stopped. Like it was stuck. But then there was smoke, and this burning man crying for help, and he reached in and—and I knew it wasn’t real. I knew it was a ghost. But I freaked the fuck out. Like, full on meltdown in the elevator.”
Zach perched on the edge of the nearest chair, watching Toby’s face as he explained what happened. His brows rose sharply and then furrowed in concern. Ghosts weren’t a new concept to him, of course, and he fully believed in them, even if he didn’t quite know what they were. It made perfect sense that Mercy was haunted, he’d just never personally had an encounter like that before, and it sounded terrifying. “Holy shit,” he murmured, reaching to put his hand on Toby’s knee. “Uh yeah, I would’ve freaked the fuck out too. Are you okay? I mean obviously you’re here, but -- what happened after that?”
“I’m fine,” Toby said, running his fingers through his hair and giving it a slight tug. “Just really shaken up. It hit all the right buttons, and I just lost it.” He didn’t actually expect Zach to put together why this particular ghost had terrified him so much, and he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to get into it. Zach knew about AIR and he knew about the fire that had allowed Toby to escape, but he didn’t like to dwell on that part. As an adult, he knew how horrific it was, but as a child all he’d cared about was survival and revenge. “Eventually, it just stopped. I couldn’t even tell you how long it was. Maybe ten minutes? It felt like hours. The doors opened and Adrian had to help me out of there. I threw up in the bathroom, then had to go back to work like nothing had happened.”
He hadn’t put two and two together about the AIR fire until Toby mentioned the ‘right’ buttons, and then he immediately felt like an ass for not realizing sooner. “Aw baby,” Zach murmured, his tone anything but patronizing. He really felt for what Toby had gone through, that sounded traumatic for anyone but especially someone with his background. Zach wished he could rewind time to fix it somehow, but it was done now. He was just glad Toby had come to him for some comfort. The microwave dinged, but Zach ignored it, standing up to hug his boyfriend again instead. “M’sorry you went through that,” he said quietly, stroking Toby’s hair a bit. There wasn’t much more he could say, but he wanted to be there for him as much as he could.
Toby closed his eyes and leaned into Zach’s hold, breathing him in, letting Zach anchor him to the moment. It would be so easy to get stuck in his head, to let visions of the day merge with nightmares from the past, but he wanted to stay here and now, where he was warm, safe, and cared for. “I just didn’t want to be alone tonight,” he murmured, ignoring the beeping of the microwave in favor of letting Zach stroke his hair. He’d worried so much about telling Zach about his past, but in moments like these it was clear that it was the right decision. If Zach hadn’t known, he couldn’t have come by and Toby desperately needed him tonight. He didn’t even have to do anything specific; just being there helped. “I woke up knowing something was going to happen. I could just tell. But I still wasn’t prepared. I was looking the wrong direction.”
Zach was glad that he knew about AIR too, horrific as it all was. What had happened to Toby in the elevator would be scary for anyone, but now he was able to understand just how traumatic it was for him specifically. Zach was glad he hadn’t been completely alone when it happened, too. He made a soft noise meant to soothe and bent down to kiss Toby’s curls again. “I’m always here for you if you need someone,” he murmured, squeezing him a bit tighter. “I’ll drop anything and everything.” Maybe that was a big promise, but it felt true to Zach. He was very quickly falling in love with this man, and Zach was eager to show up for him however Toby needed him. He dipped in to kiss Toby’s cheek a couple of times, then straightened up again. “So let’s get some food in you, we can just chill in my room and watch a movie and snuggle or whatever you need. Stay the night if you want.”
It was more than Toby would have asked of Zach, dropping everything for him, but it was a nice thought, and he hoped that he could do the same for Zach, should he ever need it. He knew Zach had his brother to fall back on, but Toby didn’t have anyone comparable, just his friends. Though after today, he thought Adrian would probably let him crash on his couch if he needed it. Toby nuzzled into Zach, holding him tight for a minute longer as Zach kissed his head. He’d made the right choice in coming there. Just being around him soothed his nerves. “Thanks, babe,” he smiled, then cast a glance toward Jai’s room. “He won’t mind if I’m here?” They usually stayed the night at Toby’s place, when they were together, though it wasn’t like he was feeling remotely frisky. All he wanted was to curl up and snuggle. Watching a movie and falling asleep wrapped around Zach sounded just about perfect.
“Nah, he’ll be fine with it,” Zach said, shooting a glance of his own in that direction. He was able to say it with confidence, but he wasn’t actually completely sure. Zach hadn’t had someone stay the night in ... well, ever, if he was being honest. And Jai’s fling partners rarely stayed over either. He didn’t think his brother would really mind, especially once Zach explained that Toby’d had a bad night and needed company. Jai seemed to like him well enough, and he was a compassionate guy. They all needed to rip the weirdness band-aid off anyway and get used to each other. Zach went to fetch the pizza rolls out of the microwave, then grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge and nodded for Toby to follow him as he led the way to his bedroom.
Toby wasn’t as confident as Zach sounded, but he was inclined to believe him. If anyone knew Jai, it was Zach. The man was still very much a mystery to Toby. He was typically quiet when Toby was around and Toby couldn’t tell if that was because of his presence or just how he was. Normally, Toby would have made more of an effort of at least saying hello, but in his current mood, with Jai already tucked away, he was fine disappearing back into Zach’s bedroom without a word. Slipping off his shoes, Toby climbed up on the bed and began to get comfortable. “So, what’d you do today? Tell me something fun,” he said with a little smile. His day had been shit, but just seeing Zach made it better already.
Jai was almost too laid back sometimes, in Zach’s opinion, but he still didn’t think he would have a problem with anything, even if a tiny part of Zach kind of wanted him to. He knew those were dumb impulses though, he truly wanted the two of them to like each other. Get along, at minimum. But he couldn’t control that -- he was grateful they were both giving it a shot, under the circumstances. Zach climbed into bed to settle next to Toby, tugging the comforter up to set the plate down where crumbs wouldn’t get in the sheets. He gave a thoughtful hum as he opened his soda and took a sip. “I haven’t done a damn bit of work today, so that’s nice,” Zach offered with a wan smile. “I beat my run speed in Hades by like thirty seconds. ... And now I feel like an asshole that I was playing video games all day while yours sucked.” He laughed lightly so Toby wouldn’t feel bad, scooting close enough to bump shoulders with him. “Thought about you a lot, that’s always fun.”
“Don’t feel bad. It’d be worse if we both had sucky days,” Toby pointed out with a smile. He wasn’t sure he could work like Zach did, managing his own time, getting to pick when he wanted to work. He was pretty sure he was too unorganized for it. He didn’t enjoy structure, but he needed it. His work might be hard, but most days he enjoyed it. Luckily, it didn’t usually require he deal with a haunted elevator. “Thought about you too,” he said, leaning into Zach. “More before the incident than after. Well, after too, but that was more like this. Before was a bit more fun.” He’d been thinking about the next time they could go out together and do something fun. This hadn’t been a part of those plans, but he appreciated the fact that Zach was willing to take the bad times with the good. He needed this more than he needed a date night.
“Yeah, nothing like the restless dead to spoil a mood,” Zach murmured with a little huff. He leaned in to press a kiss against Toby’s cheek. He looked gorgeous as ever to Zach, even with tired, sad eyes. It was probably a good sign that he didn’t give a second thought to sex being off the table tonight. All Zach wanted was to help make Toby feel better, and keep him company. “I’m here for you, babe, anything you need. Even if you just want to eat and sleep, I’ll just hang out.” It was kind of an odd feeling, that sense of protectiveness he was having. He felt it sometimes with Jai, but as the younger, trans brother, most of the time it was Jai being protective of him. He couldn’t undo what had happened in the elevator, or beat up any ghosts for scaring his boyfriend, but Zach wanted him to feel safe with him.
“Hanging out is good,” Toby said softly. He appreciated that Zach was willing to have a low key night, one that might not be a ton of fun, but that Toby very much needed. Taking the bad with the good was a key part of long lasting relationships, but Toby had hoped that the bad would wait a good while longer to show its head. This wasn’t the worst he could have to deal with, but he was glad that Zach was taking it in stride, especially since it was so bizarre. No one else he’d ever dated would have even known what to do with him after such a day. Grabbing a pizza roll, Toby snuggled down against Zach, making himself comfortable. “We could watch something?”
Zach had been through his fair share of really hard times, and he’d often felt lucky to have someone to support him through them. He had no idea where he would’ve ended up without Jai, Zach just knew it all would have been so much worse and harder. He wanted to be there for Toby in the same way, a rock to lean on, provider of comfort and pizza rolls. Even in a bad mood, Toby was good company. Zach cuddled him as close as he could without interfering with their snacking and reached for his remote. “Something light and fun, coming right up,” he murmured as he started scrolling through his streaming options. After a chill night in, snuggling, and some good sleep, hopefully Toby would feel more like himself in the morning, and Zach could give him coffee and send him off into a better day.