Prompt: It would be cool to see Garrett get super frustrated and how Silas handles it
A.N.- This was a fairly popular prompt I kept running into, so here you go. Written in 3rd person POV because I have no clue how to write in Silas's POV without sounding like a cowboy
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Silas knocked on the door, shifting uncomfortably as Mr. Grimaldi answered. He still wasn't good around adults, and he got even more nervous around Garrett's parents. He didn't want to screw up so badly around them that they banned him from seeing Garrett.
But Mr. Grimaldi just smiled. "Hi Silas." He looked over his shoulder, his own expression turning nervous. "Uh...just a fair warning. Garrett's been under a lot of stress lately. He's been trying to apply for a program in the fall and it's not going well. Sorry if he gets a little snappy with you."
"Ain't worried about that," Silas said, stepping into the house.
He knew Garrett had been stressed out lately, but Garrett had also been too busy to hang out much. He couldn't imagine Garrett getting snappy.
He went upstairs, knocking on Garrett's bedroom door. He heard a muffled "come in", and pushed the door open.
Silas went in, looking over at Garrett. He sat at the desk in his room, his hair a mess from running his fingers through it. Silas had the strangest urge to go smooth it down, but he also knew an angry person when he saw one.
"Bad time?" he said.
"Bad week," Garrett grumbled.
"I can come back later. Or just stay gone 'til you're done with whatever," Silas said.
"No. Let me finish this up and then I could use a break. Maybe take the dog for a walk or something. I just need to stretch my legs and get some fresh air," Garrett said, and went back to typing away on his laptop.
Silas took a seat on Garrett's bad, watching him carefully. He was tense, his expression more frustrated than angry. Silas was used to interpreting that kind of posture as pent-up anger, but years of living with Ray taught him that a lot of the time, it was just stress.
He stayed quiet, entertaining himself with a string on his shorts as he waited. Best not to draw attention to himself when Garrett looked ready to snap.
"Dammit!" Garrett said, that frustration leaking into his voice. He slammed the top of his laptop down and then smacked it with his palm for good measure. "Is it that hard to get someone in touch with the right channels?"
"Can you just call them?" Silas said.
"I've tried that. I've tried calling and emailing and, hell, I'm going to drive down there if I can find the time next week. Time is running out to get me into that program. I applied early so this wouldn't happen, and here we are," Garrett said, standing up so fast he nearly knocked his chair over. He began to pace back and forth, that tension growing in his body language. "I've been patient but now it's crunch time and things are just getting more scrambled. I'm so...ugh!" He raked a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Sorry. Didn't mean to blow up. I'm sorry, Silas."
"Why you apologizing to me?" Silas said in confusion.
"Because it's not fair that I'm being this pissy. It's not your fault. I just needed to vent and, I don't know, you were there," he said, shaking his head a little.
"If you need to vent, then vent. I got ears; might as well put them to good use," Silas said, gesturing at Garrett to go on.
He wasn't very good at comforting people. But if all Garrett needed was to just rant about it, Silas could listen.
"No, no, it's fine. I don't need to bitch," Garrett said. "I'm okay."
Silas thought for a moment before standing up. "Go get Michigan's leash. We can go for a walk and you can get it out of your system. I don't mind if you want to bitch about it, Gar."
That's what Garrett would do if Silas was the one upset about something. He would find a way to help Silas get that frustration out. Silas would find a way to do that for Garrett.
Garrett was usually so optimistic about everything that Silas sometimes took that positive outlook for granted. He had to stop and remind himself that Garrett got stressed out too. And Garrett deserved the same attention he showed to Silas when that happened.
Garrett left the room and returned a minute later with Michigan hooked up to his leash. The two left the house and started down the road, Michigan eagerly tugging Garrett along.
"Here," Silas said, holding his hand out. "He's gonna yank your arm right out the damn socket."
Garrett passed him the leash. "He wants to run, but I'm not Forrest Gump."
"What the hell's that mean?" Silas said.
"We'll culture you someday," Garrett said, patting his shoulder.
"Right, whatever. So, what's bugging you so much about this shit?" Silas said. "I thought you said you were gonna get it all settled by now."
"I was supposed to, but they're passing me around the departments and the paperwork is getting all screwed up. Now they're claiming I didn't send a form that I know I did, and I'm trying to send them proof I sent it, and they're trying to cover their own dumb asses," Garrett said, his frustration working back up again. "It's just infuriating. Like I said, I'll probably just have to drive down there next week and sort it all out. I'll try to play a little more email tag tonight and tomorrow, but it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere."
"Is there...anything I can do?" Silas hesitated a little on asking that. He wasn't sure he could help. He still wasn't great with technology. Or dealing with people. Or being a comforting person. Shit, he sucked.
But Garrett smiled a little at the words and reached out, holding Silas's free hand. "You can take a walk with me and protect my arm from my dog."
"I can do that," Silas said in relief.
Garrett squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Si. Really. I didn't realize how much I needed this until now. I got that off my chest before I blew up about it, and I get a nice break from the whole situation."
Silas blushed a little and looked away. "Sure."
He snuck a peek at Garrett, enjoying the smile on his face. Shit, maybe he did suck. But at least he could make Garrett smile. He wouldn't take that for granted.
It didn't sound like this situation was going to resolve itself anytime soon. So Silas would keep thinking of ways to help Garrett relieve his stress. He knew Garrett wouldn't be bright and happy all the time, but he could at least try to make it easier to get back to that state. He'd always be willing to do that for Garrett.
