The Neighbor Next Door

The simple things

Time kept moving on, and as it did, MePhone made a bit more of an effort to be going back home for himself. By the end of March, he felt okay enough to be there on his own. Going back there for good was another issue, though. Even though he had expressed it wasn't exactly his normal, he had gotten used to living with OJ. It was admittedly a bit lonely when MePhone and his cat returned to the smaller house, and he'd never admit it, but he did miss the warmth his partner provided. But he'd manage. 3gs was planning on visiting for a few days in about two weeks from now, so it'd be fine. That, and as long as it wasn't during the ginger's work hours, MePhone was allowed to come over any time if it got bad. He just at least knew at this time that he wasn't jumping back into a bad choice.

He had even bought a small rug to put over the hallway floor. Everything would be fine.

Right now, he was baking. A simple, normal task he hadn't done in a while, mostly out of the lack of motivation, but with him trying to return to some kind of normal, he decided to give it a shot after getting back from one of his morning walks. It was just something simple-- his favorites, and though he was a little out of practice, it was difficult to screw up cookies too much. They were in the oven currently, so only time would tell.

Overall, things had been really slow, honestly. After... Everything, returning to a regular pace honestly felt weird. Things were just slow, and regular again, and he certainly didn't mind that-- desperately needing something to go right, and if that was in the form of just plain, slow days, he'd take it over getting assaulted any day. And even though it was rough recovering from this, he felt generally normal again. At least he did today. And though his old normal was just getting by, he felt nice today. His new normal was more than just existing these days, and it really did help him feel like maybe he could be happy eventually. It was a nice thought, and the constant support from OJ really did help. Even through his low points, he was glad it was getting easier to crawl out of the pit he constantly found himself stuck in. He was just glad he had people in his life these days, and he hoped he'd be able to make up for all of this someday. Be able to truly give something in return to show his gratitude, and well... For now, it was cookies. He was going to make a second batch for OJ and his kids after the current cookies were done baking, some simple peanut butter cookies. Something he had made sure all of them would like-- and of course he'd probably sneak in a few extra chocolate chip cookies into the batch for the kids. Just something nice, and simple for now, really.

While the cookies baked though, he found himself waiting in the living room, playing with the cat. It had honestly been a while since it had just been him and the cat, so he had decided it would probably appreciate the attention. It was just a simple, nice few moments as time continued to tick by.

Eventually, the cookies were done. He still had a lot he wanted to do today.

.

.

.

On Tuesday night-- A few days after baking the cookies, he decided to ask OJ if he could come over, honestly just missing the warmth of his boyfriend's room. Of course it was a yes, so that's where MePhone found himself. Right now, OJ was at his desk, currently writing away at whatever project he had been working on.

"So... Uh... What are you writing?" He decided to ask. He knew by now it was a hobby of the ginger's, but he had never really gotten the time to ask before now.

"Oh, well it's this fantasy story about a knight and a prince," OJ responded, still writing away.

"Yeah? Can I get some details or is it something super secret?" MePhone just smiled, leaning back into the pillows on the bed, watching as OJ stopped for a moment.