[Closed] Can you forgive me for trying again?

[firewalled]

Who: Rich, César, Johnny, and Watson
What: Rich gets a very strange regain, and doesn't realize it's meant to make him question everything his poorly constructed support network hinges on. Embarrassment ensues.
When: June 19th
Where: Cabin 102
Warnings: Likely mentions of alcohol addiction and child abuse.

[The day after the excursion team returns back to the ship is... peaceful, somehow. After the mess that was his conversation with Johnny, Rich had been expecting to wake up with a guilty migraine and the miserable nausea that comes after a good cry, but surprisingly, he wakes without much complaint, and after sneaking some more chocolate from César's drawer, he's feeling well enough to get out of bed, and is actually considering going to the buffet for something substantial to eat when he opens the door and is face to not-face with Friday.

There's envelopes in his hands moments later. He reads the top one, for César, and tries to protest these clearly aren't for him, but she's already off again. She's really bad at answering questions, huh? Granted, that's probably because she's too busy to stick around and have an existential chat.

Well, Rich doesn't mind being the mailman. He's pretty sure his roommate spent the night canoodling with his boyfriends, and now that he's checked the other envelopes, it looks like the other two are addressed to those men. He can get this done quickly before breakfast, surely. It just means he'll end up having to enjoy a good brunch instead.

He knocks on the door to the cabin before checking to see if there's a slipper propping the door open.]

Hey! Are you all decent in there? I don't wanna see a lick of PDA before I come in, alright?

Comments

[businessorlibation]

You want to see us licking each other? We can make that happen.

[He's not serious at all, as he moves to open the door for Rich. He's dressed casually, by his standards--button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up, slacks, feet bare. Yeah, there might have been canoodling going on at some point, but he's decent now.]

Later that Father's Day, late afternoonish?

[pineapplesalmon]

César does a good job of keeping it together while he's around his boyfriends and Rich. Or when he's just around his boyfriends. But now that he remembers what day it is, it's only a matter of time before he needed some time alone to process his grief.

Every time another milestone passes, César's reminded of everything he's lost. Everything. There's potential with Rex, but only if everything lines up perfectly. Being loved here is the only thing that makes it bearable at all.

Rich is out when he enters the room. Good. He'll have some time to himself, probably, because the kid likes to keep himself busy. César drops to the couch and pulls out his phone to start scrolling through family photos.

Here, he has room to process his grief. Shed tears privately until he cries himself out, then put on his usual smile and go back into the world. If it gets to be too much, he knows he can just go down the hall and be held.

Or, at least, that's the plan. He's partway through executing it, to the point where his tears have required a second handkerchief, when the door knob turns. César freezes while staring at his phone, realizing he's been had with tears going down his face.