infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

[Tough questions!!!!]

No. [Confession is good for the soul and all. It's...quiet, not sad. He's got nothing to be sad about as long as she's back, after all.] It was all I could think to do, though.

'cause I wouldn't. I would tell you.

[ she's satisfied with that answer. ]

I should go, call Jayden.

[He assumed. And, now, hopes she doesn't tell Chilton that, if he ever stops being his...godly self.]

Good idea. I'll be here when you get back.

'kay. I'll text when I get there.

[ and then hug you for ten years. also we're gonna need to action this fyi FOR REASONS. ]

Do you want me to grab anything while I'm out?

No thank you. We've stocked up on everything we need.

[FOR REASONS and actually now just realizing that April and Will moved out so pretend that's a thing that was discussed previously in this thread with directions shot Abigail's way NAUTICAL BEDS ALL WHO WONDER ARE NOT LOST IN THIS GUEST ROOM WOW

Nothing needs to be grabbed. Except Abigail. For, like, forty thousand years. The bae.]

[ la de da, however many indeterminate hours later, she texts that she's there (with a small backpack of clothes that she climbed up the porch awning to get instead of going up the stairs like a normal person so she wouldn't run into chilton) and hurries up the walkway. ]

[Will and April haven't fully decorated their little place just yet, which means that if she looks at the window after sending that text, she'll catch a glimpse of Will Graham sprinting to the door. A blink-and-it's-gone shot of him hauling ass, openly visible through curtains that haven't been properly fixed, weren't shut and he didn't think twice about it. That doesn't match up with the Will who throws open the door—composed (for Will), subdued (briefly), patient, waiting for her instead of bolting the rest of the walk and grabbing her up in his arms like he damn well wants to. No anger to be seen, felt. Nothing that suggests there will be a scolding forthcoming. Will's happy to see her safe and sound (as much as she can be) and is trying to stay secure. The anchor that doesn't weigh down, doesn't burden. The one that keeps suitably grounded when being grounded is difficult to come by, no more, no less.

He's just a little jittery in his anchor duties right now. Even the smile he gives her is way too joyous for his waiting to be anything other than a legitimate test of self control.]

[ she totally misses it, fixed on the door, eyes lighting up when she sees him. she doesn't mention the house, the curtains, she doesn't ask about april or ziggy, she doesn't even bother with hello. she, far more impatient than will, sprints the last few yards and flings her arms around him, backpack dropping to the ground. ]

I love you, too.

[ there. now she feels settled. home. ]

[Just like that, Will Graham is currently unaware of the world at large. The backpack hits the ground, but the noise doesn't come anywhere close to hitting his ears. All that matters is Abigail Hobbs is back, safe, hasn't gone through the last few moments of her (their?) life (lives?) again and ended up back in the hospital. Or worse.

He grabs her up without hesitation, arms holding onto her in the way they hadn't been able to back in that blood-covered kitchen. Will holds onto her like even the slightest bit of room between them will be enough for her to escape. That only escalates when her words hit, and he buries his face a little further in dark hair, taking the first breath he's had time for since she came at him.]

I love you, too. [Just in case she forgot. Just in case the bear-strength grip on her suggesting it isn't enough for her to put that together. Just in case, because Abigail has probably not heard that from someone who meant it in a purer, not at all murderous manner enough. He can fill that void. Gladly.] You hungry? Tired?

[Not letting go.

Not just yet.]

Tired.

[ no one is surprised. but it's more of an emotional tired than her regular physical fatigue. she vanished for a week and realizing that meant she realized what could have happened and it forced her to rethink how she was living here.

because death, fyi, death could have happened. so much death.

she shifts the tiniest bit, pressing her face against will's chest. she doesn't want to let go either, clingy in the most literal sense of the word. ]

Can Stiles come over later?

[It's all good; Abigail isn't the only clingy one in this situation.]

Sure he can. [Light, a little huff of air escaping flared nostrils. Will doesn't have a reason to care, doesn't figure April has a reason to care, either. It's not like their guest room has been overly used, might as well make the best of having it in the first place.] You want some help setting yourself up in the spare room or do you wanna do that alone?

[Does she need some space, essentially. He's not going to crowd her if she doesn't want it. That's...not his intention, to suffocate, to be the only person she feels she can ever rely on.

That way lies death. So much death.]

[ her answer is the ever eloquent shrug. mostly because setting herself up almost meant letting go and nah, let's not do that. she hadn't really expected will to say no to letting stiles come over, so she doesn't have to figure out how to go from there, she was expecting a yes.

so hugging. yep, fuck everything else. ]

[Yes, they shouldn't separate right away, Will seems to agree 100% with that one. For a brief, beautiful and horrifying moment, he envisions bending just enough to hook one arm under her legs, picking her up and carrying her in. Beautiful because God, she's the most important person in his life. Horrifying because God, how many times had Garret Jacob had to pick up Abigail over the course of her too-short life, would that remind her of him? Had Hannibal done at that some point, after he'd cut off her ear? Had he been the same as the Shrike, a "good" father right until

he

wasn't?

There are probably people, somewhere, looking out their windows, passing by across the street, who find this odd. He doesn't care. April might be wondering what's taking so long, and. Ah.]

Hope you're good with the raccoons. They sort of run the place.

[He can't even inject any fake disdain into that statement.

He enjoys those furry little bastards far too much to ever pretend otherwise, regardless of what's going on.]

I love April's raccoons.

[ even if they beat her at scrabble sometimes. somewhere on this train of thought, she finally, reluctantly, pulls away, because serious things need to be addressed. ]

Where is she?

[ her cat. also april, but abigail means her precious, fluffy cat. ]

[The raccoons are beloved, okay, good. This will be fine. This will be great. Maybe one of them will sneak into Abigail's room in the middle of the night and pile up with her, then.

He pulls away only to lean down and pick up her backpack by the thickest strap, hoisting it over his shoulder like he's truly worried pulling it up by anything slimmer will break and he'll have ruined it. He hasn't been to school in years but he still knows how to use a backpack, look at him go.]

Ziggy? She's been on the walkways, mostly...we've been redecorating the place so it's...animal friendly. [No, that's bullshit. This place is way more than friendly to animals. It's a Goddamn paradise.] April's...been doing some video game. Thing. You'll probably know better than me.

[Deferring to the youth, what a respectable old fart. When he reaches out to nudge her elbow, cue her inside, it's playful. Come on, kid, there are kid things for you to do. Damn kids.]

I don't really know video games. [ but she drifts inside, trying to stifle a yawn behind her hand as she goes. maybe she will explore the video game and then sleep. or sleep and then explore. or sleep and then sleep.

or, more accurately, ask stiles to come over and then sleep. with stiles. actual restful sleep for once. yay. ]

Do you have grape juice?

[She gets a grin, Will not disbelieving her but rather firm in the belief that she knows them better than he does, if only by the merits of her age, her generation. If she doesn't know them intimately, she'll be able to adapt better than him. She'll have heard names he wouldn't be privy to his circles, she'll have a better springing board.]

Sure, it's... [He hefts the bag up a little better and indicates the path to the kitchen with his free hand.] ...in there. I'll go put your stuff in the guest room, and...just make yourself at home.

[God, that—he has wanted to say that for such a long time, smile growing, absolutely joyous, not a hint of strain or insincerity behind it. Never connected to the idea of family, but a family involving Abigail making herself at ease, comfortable, in the place Will's done the same, that's.

An idea he can definitely connect to. Is connected to, obviously, as much as he's connected to Abigail. He'll take the good (her being alive) with the bad (whatever problems might arise, finding long hair clogging the shower drain?), because the bad here is nothing like Baltimore. The bad? Isn't here. They can be better, they can be happy.

Will's certainly happy as he makes a beeline to do just what he said after shutting the outside door, extending a foot in the direction of that bearded blunder, which allows for Ziggy to go bolting through his legs and tell her momma what's up.]

[ abigail is just going to follow will around like one of his strays, to be quite honest, but she pauses with a happy exhale in order to lean down and scoop up ziggy, cradling the fluffy monster to her chest happily, looking exactly like agnes with her unicorn. IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!!!!!11!!

but once ziggy is clamped in her arms and eagerly inspecting abigail with her sandpapery tongue, wondering where her hairless kitten has been for so long, abigail continues to follow after will, not letting him get very far out of her line of sight. she giggles when ziggy licks her ear -- not even the good one. ]

It's like she thinks I'm her kitten and not the other way around.

[When Will had said he was going to put her things in the guest room, that's exactly what he meant. Even if he hadn't been living with a woman for the past two months, he had knowledge of them before that, knew better to start pulling things out of her backpack in case he stumbled onto something surrogate dads were just supposed to know about but never face firsthand. Not unless there needed to be a late night run to the store because supplies had vanished. So that bag gets gently placed on the bed and Will props up the pillow like he is totally used to guests. He totally is not, but he tried, okay? The sheets are fresh, the comforter is the nicest they have that isn't on their own bed, and he only had to enlist the help of two raccoons getting everything ready on time. He's got this.]

She's gotten attached. [Sort of like the bearded dummy of a dog has gotten attached to Will, sitting at the threshold of the room and watching them both carefully.] When an animal loves someone, they want to take care of you as much as you take care of them. It's not one way or the other, it...goes both ways.

[He gesticulates as he says it, and even though that isn't a real, trained cue for the dog to come in, he doesn't need one. He knows where he stands with Will and walks in...only, he walks past Will and sticks his head up on that clean, clean comforter to sniff at her bag.

Will's marginally got this. And he's definitely just talking about animals here, nothing else. Nope.]

Is that it, huh, Zig? [ she hefts up the cat in front of her face to look at her. and ziggy stares at her in silence before meowing and reaching out to bat at her hair.

okay. that's probably it. with a laugh, she sets the cat down to inspect the room now that her human will be in it. which allows abigail to look around as well. ]

It's nice. All of it, I mean. You should put flowers out front.

[Will pushes aside the curtains on the window to look outside, as if he hasn't already started contemplating what sort of plants to put around the place. It's an easy way to show he's taking her suggestion on board, immediately.]

Funds are sort of tight. [He cranes his neck up, eyes narrowing at something across the way before he lets the curtain go and turns back, shrugging his good shoulder.] Got a bunch of plans, but we're staggering them. Prioritizing.

["We're" he says.]

Why, what flowers would you suggest?

Wildflowers. [ absolutely zero hesitation, followed by: ] Grey likes flowers.

[ does she assume grey moved with them or is she just pointing it out because grey is april's friend and it'd be nice for him to visit and be suddenly surrounded by a tiny meadow of wildflowers. ]

Hydrangea and rhododendron against the house. Maybe lilacs too. Geraniums for ground cover, hosta along the walkway. Lady slippers, tulips, irises, lupine, tall ones like that for in front of the bushes. Scurvy weed is really pretty, but I think dogs are allergic to it, so ignore those. [ her face scrunches in thought. ] Actually rhododendron, too. [ think think think. ] Forsythia or weigela would be better. And you could coax some bougainvillea to climb up the tree, with honeysuckle vines.

[ ... ] I read a lot. You should get a dogwood tree.

Edited 2015-02-13 07:30 (UTC)

[Well then. He stares for a second, wasn't expecting a full list like that. But it's good, he can file it away with his super memory and insert them into plans accordingly. Start small, one at a time, and watch for Abigail's reaction as one more on her list joins the others. And yeah, he already figured into Grey stopping by, so that's good to take into account. Better when it's presented by Abigail, though. He's more likely to seek it out and do it in a timely manner.

Building a home, together, as effortlessly and understated as possible.]

Probably easiest to start with the dogwood tree. [He says, and that cracks a small smile out of him. Yeah, he gets the joke. He approves.] Need to get this guest room in order, too... [Someone has plans for this place, Abigail can see that in the way he looks around the room. A fixer upper that's actually desired, go figure.] The bathroom is just down the hall, by the way. You don't have to worry about knocking or anything...there's one connected to the master bedroom.

[Takes out some of the potential awkwardness, doesn't it?]

That's about it. This isn't. A very big place, but it does just fine.

[But it's what they have, and Will cherishes it as much as he hopes Abigail will come to find it worth value outside of just being a safe space. What could be taken as nervousness in the way he looks down as he says it has nothing to do with the place itself and everything to do with wanting to make it so Abigail chooses to spend time here.]

I like it.

[ she really does, but she feels the need to reassure him. like it not being big is something that is important. it's a sweet little house and will and april's home and that's really all that matters.

it could be a shack and abigail would like it. ]

All of it.

[ and in case he doesn't realize he is part of that, she tiptoes back over to hug him again. she loves the house and she loves will. ]

[It could be a shack, but as long as Abigail was willing to stop by and liked it, a shack might as well be a mansion, in Will's eyes. Her approval means the world to him, and his face makes that completely obvious, smile joyous and sincere, growing in both when he gets another hug. He wraps his arms around her and holds her tight, relishes in the fact that she's here, she's back, she's real, she's alive. Breathing and not in the hospital and never going to be in the hospital again if Will can help it, not for something life-threatening.

Today is a great day.]

Me too.

[He loves the house and he loves Abigail, though he loves one far more than the other. That's okay; the house doesn't have feelings, and it can't break the same way as people. If Will has any say in it, there will be no breaking of the house or in the house. Kitchen floor is not going to be a bloody mess and Abigail is going to be safer here than anywhere else.

He loves Abigail.

The house is just pretty awesome, in comparison.]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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