Eight exhaled deeply, sitting back against the wall of his bedroom.
Just this morning, he had received a commission of sorts, creating a medieval sword replica for a classroom display. His hands and knuckles ached and his stomach was grumbling loudly.
He perked up when Two poked his head around the door with a stupidly silly expression on his face. Eight raised his eyebrow in interest.
"Five and Nine are back." He said, beaming, as if that were supposed to be code for something. Eight didn't change his expression, urging Two to explain just what he was grinning about.
"They were holding hands!" His voice had definitely raised an octave, and he sounded unbelievably excited. "They fell asleep on the couch. Five has his head on Nine's shouldeeer~!" He squeaked in excitement and Eight looked momentarily surprised, before breaking out into a grin.
"You seem pretty excited." He said, standing up and stretching his back, making it crack painfully. Two looked somewhat embarrassed, but nodded. "Yes, well...I am! After all, Five tells me all sorts of things, including his little thing for Nine. I'm so happy for them!" He said, shaking his fists in excitement. Eight laughed, wearily.
"You're more excited about it than they are. Anyway, what are you cooking for dinner? I'm starving." Eight whined. Two smiled fondly. "Well I was thinking of pasta, if that's alright. You've been working all day, haven't you?" He teased lightly. Eight rolled his eyes.
"You can't lecture me on working too hard. That would be hypocrisy."
Two flushed deep red, looking incredibly sheepish. "A-Ah...I suppose it would be...but there's always somebody to call me out on it! And that's what I'm doing to you. Now come downstairs and take a break for a while." He demanded, with a smile. Eight feigned annoyance and followed him downstairs.
Nine and Five were still asleep on the sofa, now practically curled up in each others arms. Eight felt he should avert his gaze for some reason or another, but looking over at the older man who was practically having a breakdown over it, he didn't feel out of place.
After all, they were pretty cute...
"So you two finally got together?" Seven voiced, brightly over the dinner table. Nine promptly choked on his pasta, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "W-Wha-?"
"Don't even bother, Nine." One murmured. "We all saw you asleep on the couch."
Nine reluctantly accepted the fact, and hovered close over his steaming pasta bowl. Five gave him a slightly reassuring pat on the back. Nothing more was said about it.
"Oh, Six, you got a letter this morning. Did I give it to you?" Two asked, placing his fork neatly atop his empty bowl. Six looked up with a mouth full of pasta. "Hn?" He shook his head, gulping down the half-chewed pasta.
"Well it's handwritten, so I don't think it's important. Not to say it's not important, but as in...oh whatever, here you go." He said dismissively, as he passed the letter over the table. Six took it and almost dropped it in the pasta, upon seeing the writing.
"Who's it from?" Five asked.
Six looked rather sullen all of a sudden, as he carefully placed the letter beside him, and carried on eating. The group looked at each other with confusion.
"S'nothing. It's from my dad is all." He said plainly. Eight almost choked on his pasta, as he thumped hard on his chest. That didn't sound good at all.
"All the way from Iceland?"
"Sure."
An odd silence spread thickly across the dinner table.
"Six, are...you okay?" Seven asked, gently. Six put his fork down, and Eight winced at the clattering noise. It was evident that Six was, in no way, okay, but it was a matter of whether or not he wanted to admit what was wrong. Eight already knew the deal with his dad, but he wondered if he was going to tell the others. Six actually looked like he was contemplating it.
"Yeah, I just..." He gave an uneasy groan, grabbing a fistful of hair. "My dad doesn't want me to come back home anymore." He said, quietly. "Says I'm too much trouble for one kid and told me never to return home." He gazed sadly at the unopened letter beside him.
"Your dad said that to you?"
"Yeah."
"What about your mother?"
"I dunno where she is. She disappeared a long time ago. Dad says it was my fault."
Two opened his mouth to inevitably deny that accusation, but his mind fought against it. After all, it was totally possible that she had left because of him. He wasn't exactly easy to handle at the worst of times, but perhaps she had problems of her own.
"Well...nobody's going to kick you out of here. Isn't that right?" He finally said, looking up at One for some sign of backup. One nodded and hummed an affirmative; his mouth full of pasta. Six smiled appreciatively, yet uneasily.
"I guess."
"Of course, it's nothing compared to your home but..." Two mumbled, awkwardly.
"It's not my home anymore. I don't belong there." Six said, with finality, and more confidence than Eight had expected. "You guys appreciate me more than he ever did." He glanced upwards and smiled at Eight, who inhaled sharply. He was looking at him. Why was he looking at him?
"Of course we do, Six. We'll help you out." Seven beamed, and Six rubbed his shoulder, awkwardly. "I guess. I know I'm hard work..." He trailed, nervously, and Two put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, but not purposely. Now look at One." One looked up, rather indignantly. "One is hard work and if he's not trying to be, then he's doing it purposely." Six laughed lightly and One rolled his eyes, but smiled.
Despite Six's laughing, Eight could see something different in his eyes and he was sure the others could too. His eyes were misty and he looked as if he were constantly on the verge of tears, masked only by his smiles.
"We'll help you however we can, Six." Two said, gently taking his hand into his own. "After all, we're virtually a family here. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is One or Eight." Eight flashed a rather awkward but pleased smile and Six looked momentarily taken aback, before smiling shyly. He didn't look so despairing now.
Eight himself felt a strange feeling in his gut. Two had said they were virtually a family. Perhaps it didn't matter if he had nowhere else to go...he had here.
The strange feeling lingered in his gut, and he realised Six hadn't touched the letter he was given...
Hey hey, sorry about being away. I was up in Oxford, visiting me dad w Also, I keep forgetting to write ._.
