Alma still found herself a bit surprised when the young man showed up at her door. Perhaps he wasn't exceptionally young, probably early thirties at most, but he was young to her. It was still hard to believe.
It was funny how fast a decade could pass and how funny little things could stay the same all that time. Like their kitten who hadn't aged a day and always seemed to know when a certain blond was here before he even rang the doorbell. Or how said blond always brought her a small but lovely bouquet of flowers as if it was routine.
Jowd would never be far when she let Yomiel in and sometimes she wondered just what secret these two were keeping from her. They had become friends, in spite of how silly the two looked next to each other and how drastically different they seemed at first glance. Jowd said it was because he saw the blond frequently due to being the officer who had tracked him down. Yomiel said it was because the detective was often at the prison to keep tabs on him. Jowd would then add something about fatherly inclinations and Yomiel would blush while she giggled at the pair of them.
Today was no different. Yomiel had come over, Sissel's meow foretelling his light knocking and the pink and yellow flowers he presented dutifully as she opened the door. Jowd was mere feet away when he stepped inside and Sissel hopped up into his arms. It was fascinating how well the cat had taken to their new friend, it was almost like Yomiel had known the cat for much longer than these last few months. Almost.
Alma let them be after that, offering an invitation to join them for dinner if he liked. He thanked her softly and then found himself tagging along behind Jowd as they headed toward that familiar office of his. They spoke idly as they went but the chatter ended as soon as the door to the study closed behind them.
"You don't have to always bring her flowers, you know?" Jowd began, they'd had this conversation before. "Keep that up and I'll be at a loss for my own gifts."
"Sorry. It just…"
"You didn't do it this time, Yomiel."
"But I did do it once."
This was usually the time where Sissel would open a channel for them to speak more privately. You never know who could be listening and all that. But Yomiel refused.
"None of them know what we're talking about anyway." He muttered while petting Sissel's fur. A habit Jowd noticed Yomiel had picked up along with adjusting and readjusting his sunglasses every few minutes.
There were other little things, always running a hand over a surface whether he knew the exact feel or not. He was grounding himself in life with feeling. Rooting himself with simple sensations like the silky feel of cat fur, the smoothness of doorknobs and handles, the slightly curved faces of keyboard keys and the sound of typing. Much better than the alternative.
It was the same when Jowd reminded himself with the sound of his wife and daughter laughing. Or with the warmth of home. And even this. The young man whose life he had stolen away in a timeline long gone standing before him alive and well. Mostly.
Yomiel seemed preoccupied. Not just with the kitten in his arms and an uncooperative lock of blond hair that seemed intent on staying in his face, but with something more.
"You're quiet." Jowd tried after a moment.
"M'always quiet." Yomiel shot back too quickly.
"You know what I mean."
He sighed, letting Sissel down only to immediately miss the distraction. "…"
"What is it?"
"N-nothin'. Forget it." Another thing Jowd had found out: an upset or anxious Yomiel stuttered. The trend went that the stronger the feeling, the worse the stutter.
"Yomiel."
"W-why…?"
"Why what?" But Jowd was almost sure he knew.
"With-th everything I did to you-"
"Stop." Yomiel might have flinched.
Without another word Jowd closed the space between them. Towering over the thin blond who seemed to shrink as he looked up over his shades in an attempt to meet the taller man's gaze.
"I know what happened then, I don't fault you. What's past is past. Or…never happened in our case. The best we can do is try to live our lives in the here and now." At this, Yomiel dropped his gaze to the ground and Jowd, being the strange man he was, grabbed Yomiel into a bear hug. The smaller man yelped and tried to escape at first, knowing full well that this had happened before and that he had never managed to escape on his own. He stopped his squirming and decided to just let the hug happen. Sissel managed to find a way into the mix as well, his purr sounding like a soft chuckle.
These two were clearly conspiring against him. But if conspiracy came with weird hugs and his friend being there every step of the way, he supposed he could live with it.
"Your friend here helped me realize that." Jowd said when he broke the silence. "And he helps me get the drop on you every time."
"Cheating cat."
'Easy to surprise human.'
"Silly Systems Engineer works better."
"Dopey Detective."
"Pissy Programmer."
"Crappy Cop."
This went on for some time. Until the two of them had run out of names and Sissel was tired of hearing the thinly veiled insults being batted around like one of his toy mice. Jowd had since let Yomiel down but they still stood close.
What happened next was a surprise only someone like Yomiel could have planned.
Silence. They had been staring for only a few seconds when Yomiel reached for Jowd's collar and tugged him to eye level. The taller man complied easily, leaning down with a questioning look but received no answer from the dark shades and set jaw until suddenly Yomiel kissed him. If Jowd were honest, it was so quick and clumsy it could've been confused for some strange headbutt. Though there was no mistaking the blush and the way the blond moved to leave. He reached for Yomiel's hand, stopping him mid stride.
"What kind of gentleman leaves on a note like that?"
"The kind that shouldn't have done it in the first place..."
"What's done is done."
"Can I leave or do you want to watch me die of shame."
"No one's dying of shame, Yomiel."
"So what, you saying you liked it?"
"I never said I didn't."
"Now you're just messing with me."
"Yomiel."
"What does it matter anyway. You've got Alma and Kamila and everyone else. I've got my life, mostly, and Sissel. That should be it."
"You and I both know that isn't the way it works."
"Maybe things would be easier if it was."
"But we don't get maybe."
"Which is why I should go." Yomiel turned to leave but Sissel had already tricked the door, the sticky lock was more than stuck enough to halt him now. "Sneaky little-"
"You should really learn to stop running from things, I think it might be bad for your health."
"Very funny."
"Now, why?"
"I dunno! It just kinda...happened."
"And why do think that is?"
"Are you-is this some kind of interrogation? Jowd, I'm serious. I have no idea why it happened."
"Then why beat yourself up for not stopping it?"
"..."
"It's fine." To prove it, Jowd tilted Yomiel's head up, leaning to place a proper soft kiss to the blond's lips. "See?"
Yomiel simply blinked, floored by the display, as Jowd stepped back. Like clockwork, the doorknob jiggled and one very perplexed ghost tricked it back to normal for a smiling Alma to enter.
"Oh good, you're still here." She addressed Yomiel without a care in the world. She must have caught the look on his face, there was no way she hadn't. "Dinner's just about ready. Do you two think you could come down and help set the table?"
"Of course!"
"Y-yeah." Yomiel paused to clear his throat. "Sure thing."
With that the three of them and the kitten Sissel made their way downstairs. Jowd needing a mental channel to assure Yomiel several times that all was well. There was no need to worry. What was done was done and that was it.
A very perplexed kitten watched it all from his perch, calming his old friend as well. Funny how a certain nervous blond got himself into these situations.