A year later [AU]

He slept. Not a good sleep, but at least enough to rest himself for the oncoming day. As Gaspar sat up he welcomed the blanket, pressing it close to himself, having gotten a little cold already. Curling up under the blanket, he tried resuming sleep, just wanting to disappear if only for a few more hours. But alas, it was not meant to be. He turned over, laying on his back and reaching over to grab his phone. There were plenty of messages from his so called boyfriend, most of them angry in nature. He just sighed, placing the phone back down before rubbing his eyes. They stung having to look at the screen for too long without his glasses. But putting them on also meant seeing the world, and right now he wasn't in the mood to see anything. It was still early, but he hadn't been able to make out the time on his phone. "Have you slept well?" he asked, rather wanting to hear about the pleasant sleep that the guy next to him had had.

Gaspar wouldnt have minded if the seraph needed sleep. He just sat in his own thoughts a bit, looking around. That was probably what he missed the most. Being able to just sit and look around, not know what was going on outside or even care about it. Now he felt like that was all he did. Vinnie moved and he looked in his direction, pulling his legs up to loosely hug. He just liked making himself feel smaller, it was a comfort thing. The question made him hum. "Yes. Slept good." he replied, though his legs were a little itchy from sleeping in his pants. He however ignored it for a now, one hand mindlessly rubbing his knee to relieve the discomfort. "I dream of home today. Had big cat tree. Sleep inside all the time, was good help for sharp nails." he explained with a soft chuckle.

Vinnie smiled slightly, though his smiles barely reached his eyes at this point in time. "That sounds nice," he said, pulling himself to sit up on his bed, scratching his bare chest a little. Because he had went to bed with wet hair, it was a little unusually fluffy and all over the place. "I gotta go check up on someone," he said, getting out of bed, getting dressed. No, if his boyfriend came here, then all hell would break loose and he didn't wish that for Gaspar. He was pulling on his pants from yesterday, dusting off the dirt, not really caring much. "Will you be here when I get back?" he asked. He wasn't sure how to feel about all of this, but he also didn't want to ruin things for him. Vinnie just needed to go fix shit up with his boyfriend and then he would be back in time for Mickey to come by too.

It was nice. Gaspar looked back at the window, just smiling to himself at the thought of his dream. The seraph got up and he just remained sitting where he was. It was soft and nice. The question made him shrug. "I think so." he said truthfully. He didnt really have any plans but it could change quickly. "Will you be long?" he asked. He was a little more curious than he led on but he rarely began asking for details on something that didnt really concern him. "I can cook. Is hungry?" and by that he meant frying an egg and warming bread at best.

"I'll be home before lunch," he said, nodding to himself. That was a fair bit of time away, but it also gave him room to take his time and not hurry back. The offer for Gaspar to cook for him made him feel some sort of way. A warmth in his chest he hadn't really felt before. "Uh, no, but thank you ... You can take whatever you want from the fridge while I'm gone though, so," he wanted to encourage him to just use the space that he had known for quite some time now. With that Vinnie headed out the door.

Before lunch? Instead of admitting to not really knowing when that was, he just hummed and nodded. The offer was genuine enough. He was also feeling a little hungry and frankly he had found that not being a small creature who could get anywhere had made his life a little more boring. If he wanted to look out the window, there was no comfortable way of doing that for hours. "Okay." he answered the encouragement and then the seraph was gone.
He moved to the edge of the bed, letting his feet dangle for a bit before he eventually got hungry enough to go for some food. He would make eggs if there was any, to then sit down on the couch with that and hopefully some bread too. He knew how to turn on the TV, surfing some channels until he found something he found interesting. Some documentary about the sea, which was already a wild concept for the cat turned human who had never seen anything like it. He ended up slouching on the couch, completely absorbed by the TV.
When it was over it was like he wanted more. But instead he went to clean the plate and the pan, because that he knew how to do. He slipped back into his hoodie and looked around for a bit. He wanted to go explore. But before he went, he made sure to grab a fork as well. And then he went out to see what the area was like.

[tw: abusive partner, hinted assault, suicidal thoughts]

When Vinnie finally returned his body was aching. His boyfriend was not one who liked being ignored, and last night's silence had turned in to a full blown verbal assault. He got in to his apartment, slumping down on his bed, but his arms were hurting and it felt like no matter how he placed himself he was sore. He had been crying too, mostly during the fighting, which was rather one-sided. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes, moving out to the bathroom where he turned on the shower. He felt dirty and used like so many times in his life already. Of course the luring dark thoughts came to him, promising him a way to escape but he felt like he was too much of a coward to turn to that. Instead he ran a bath, not sure if he even wanted to get in it, but he ended up sitting rather uncomfortably in the tub. Resting his head on the ledge he closed his eyes, needing a bit of time to just gather himself.

He would've been lost if it hadnt been for the fork. Sure, he had known how to make his way back but the fork was vital. He had put it in a place that other's could care less for but he would know. This was the apartment. He had liked what he had seen, there had been a playground not far where a couple of families had been hanging out. He had yet to find a park, he loved those the most. He had a bag of apples with him and as he got back into the apartment, he noticed that Vinnie's shoes where there. "Back! I found apples." he announced as he closed the door behind him. He kicked his own off and went to the kitchen to put the bag of apples down before sitting down on the couch, drawing in a deep breath. He just sat there and waited for Vinnie to come out.

Vinnie had closed his eyes, drifting off to some place that maybe was nicer than right here. Then he was brought back, hearing Gaspar call out and he knew he couldn't sit here sulking, even if that was all he wanted to do. He finished up his bath, getting up to dry himself off and getting in to a new set of clothes, hiding the broken and torn ones in the laundry basket. The guy wouldn't be any wiser. He got dressed in some oversized clothing, still a bit sore, but he could at least manage to get through the rest of the day. Or so he hoped. "Did you have a nice walk?" he asked, heading up to the small kitchenette, grabbing an apple that he washed off in the sink, drying it with a paper towel before taking a bite. He hadn't noticed yet how his lip was torn, but he sure felt it as he took a bite, "ow," he muttered, placing a hand over the now bleeding cut. He sighed, grabbing the paper towel to press to his lip, smiling apologetically at the other guy.

Gaspar had found the toy again and was lightly playing with it, well as best as one person handling a cat toy could do. When Vinnie came out, he however stopped, trying to hide that he would ever do something as weird as that. At least he had been told it enough times to not want to be caught again. "Like it here. Nice area." he said with a small smile. He turned his head to look at Vinnie though his expression faded as he felt like something was off. And when the seraph muttered in hurt, he got up and went to him. "You bleeding." he sighed, a small furrow on his brows. "What happen?"

Of course Gaspar wanted to know what was going on, but how did you just unload everything on a guy who used to be a cat and probably saw everything in this world so brutal. He shook his head no, "it's nothing serious," he promised him, waving with his hand as he tried to smile but it only ended up in stinging more, gritting his teeth. He placed the apple down, pressing the paper towel to his lip as he sighed. "Matthew ... My boyfriend ... He has a temper and I made him worried yesterday because I didn't answer - But we're fine, he apologized, we made up, it's all good," he promised, not needing Gaspar to know all the details. But Vinnie was getting used and abused by his so called boyfriend. "See, it's just a little blood, it'll heal in no time," he said, showing the cut that would heal within the day or at least close up.

Gaspar was right. But Vinnie, in his loneliness, didn't see himself breaking up with Matthew, even if he was toxic, he had good sides too. But today had been one of the bad sides that had met him. The guy seemed to drop the topic, and he felt more at ease, looking at the cut piece of apple a bit in confusion, but he ended up taking the piece, biting more carefully over the smaller piece. The question made him hum, "I'm eating now," he just said, chewing the apple that was surprisingly juice and nice. He felt bad. "Sorry, I wish I didn't burden you," he muttered, frowning as he clearly wasn't used to kindness even if he was always kind to others. Smile and the whole world smiles back, that was what he had been brought up with, and yet it seemed every time he smiled, the world spat in his face.

Vinnie was pushed, keeping in a groan, but his pained expression showed it all. He was a seraph, so he would heal, but some things were better not spoken about. He sat down, albeit a little awkwardly as if to sit a specific way so it wouldn't hurt too badly. He was chewing on the last mouthful of apple of the piece he had started with, shrugging lightly at the question. "I guess I'm not used to people caring for me much," he admitted. He had spent countless times over the last year trying to connect with those around him, but he constantly felt like he was just calling in to the void where no-one would answer. No matter his pleas and hurt. "I'm usually the one caring for others ... I guess that's why I feel like a burden now that I can't take care of you," he muttered, though logically it made a little sense, it was something his mind had convinced him of.

He made sure to clean the knife and put it away, listening to the seraph in the meantime. Somehow it was hard to believe that Vinnie wasnt just attracting people like himself, but then again Gaspar still thoroughly believed that kindness was very rare to come by; So they were probably just hiding very well. "I see." he mumbled at the mutter, grabbing an apple himself before he walked over to sit on the couch as well, biting into the apple. "I dont know what to say. Maybe what someone else told me sometime: Get used to it." he said with a small smile sneaking up on his lips. He grabbed the remote and placed it at the seraph's thigh.

Get used to it. He had to scoff softly, looking down at his small bowl of apples. That was when he just started to cry. He always preached helping others, but had never actually been helped himself. Everyone he knew were either using him or had been using him at some point. Despite crying, rather softly and not trying to make too much noise, he simply pressed the remote button, turning on the TV to drown out his own trembling sounds.

He liked the taste of apples, how when they were just the right colour and texture they were among his favorite snacks to just have. If he could live off apples, he would've. The TV was turned on and he looked at it before he glanced towards the seraph. He had noticed the trembles in the corner of his eye. He adjusted himself a little on the couch before he lifted a hand to move over and place on the seraph's arm, just a gentle touch to remind him that he wasnt alone. Well he didnt have to be alone with the feelings he had right now was essentially what Gaspar wanted him to know, but he didnt know the words for that. So the small gesture had to do. "Eat apples before browning." he said in a soft tone, looking shortly at the bowl before back at the TV.

Vinnie sniffled, nodding as he took another bite of apple, wanting just to lean in to the careful touch. He was grateful and yet he still couldn't shake the feeling of being a burden.
Eventually he ended up calming down somewhat, only a few sniffles here and there, but they were watching a documentary about some big animals on a savannah in a country far away. Looking to the clock, he wondered if Mickey would stick to her promise, but then again the Mickey he knew was flakey and could decide not to come last second either ways. He wasn't having high hopes, in fact he was slowly starting to consider what he could make for dinner for the two of them, but mostly he just wanted to order something to be delivered. Like he needed to drown his own sadness in fried foods.

Gaspar just smiled a little, looking at the TV still, though the smile faded once he got absorbed into yet another documentary of something that he hadnt seen before. The world just felt so much bigger with TV's because they showed such beautiful places. The lions didnt look as big and scary as the man on the TV promised them to be. He eventually got tired of sitting so she laid down, the top of his head pressed to the side of the seraph's thigh as his eyes were glued on the TV.

Mickey did almost forget but remembered last second. She arrived maybe an hour later than she had thought she would, knocking on the door before entering. "Yo! Sorry for the delay." she said, putting down the box before she looked at the newcomer and Vinnie, frowning a little at the brunette. "I brought your stuff." she then said as she looked at Vinnie, pushing the box forward with her foot on your stuff. "Who busted your lip?" she then asked as she noticed the rather visible wound.

It felt good to just sit here, get swallowed whole by the world that was inside the screen. He barely noticed as someone entered the apartment, but looked up as he heard a familiar voice. Mickey. She looked good, and with a bit of biting his tongue, he got to his feel, walking towards her, but he didn't look too good. "Just a small accident, nothing to worry about," he smiled, not wanting her to worry. One thing was Gaspar knowing, but Mickey was another thing. "What's in the box anyways? My silverware or something?" he said, trying to crack a joke, but one couldn't deny his blood shot eyes from crying, though he seemed to smile through the pain as always.

He hummed, nodding as he looked down at the box. It seemed less like her trying to steal to have items and more a way for her to have money for the next bottle. He touched the box a bit with his foot, "I knew you were stealing when you came over," he shrugged. He wasn't stupid as to why he suddenly missed a kitchen knife or where his jewellery went. He went silent for a while, his body still shuddering from what it had gone through before coming home. "You look good ... I mean you always looked good, but ... You look stable," it wasn't like he could say the same about himself. Without others around him he had caved in on himself, and it showed. "I've missed you," he said, looking down at the box, holding in his own tears. She didn't need to worry about him. No, she was doing better on her own and that was a testament to how useless he was.