Gareth was humming softly to himself as he poured some water into the kettle before placing it on the stove to heat up, and Tim couldn't help but smile.
He had to admit, seeing Gareth happy like this was enough to melt anyone's heart.
Gareth opened a cupboard for a moment and he looked over the cups.
"What are you doing?" Tim asked, cocking an eyebrow slightly.
"Trying to choose the right bird."
"The right…bird?" Gareth smiled and he nodded as he lightly rubbed his chin in thought.
"Birds have different meanings you know." He explained to Tim. He then nodded as he chose a cup with a grosbeak on it and he smiled.
"This one should suit you." He said finally. "The grosbeak heals old wounds, signifies family values, and past love's significance!"
Tim was forced to bite the inside of his cheeks to avoid laughing as Gareth set the cup down in front of him.
"You really are serious about this aren't you?" he asked. Gareth smiled and nodded as he got the tea leaves and put a spoonful of them into his cup.
"I've always believed in this kind of thing." He said simply, smiling at Tim with a wink and a shrug. "Me mum was the one who always told me about it."
"You really loved her didn't you?"
"She saved me life a lot when I was younger." Gareth said, leaning against the counter on his elbows. "If it were up to me da', I would be dead by now I think." He admitted with a shrug.
"He beat you that badly, Gareth?" Tim asked, faintly surprised that the man was not in prison for what he had done to him.
"His belt…and his hands mostly." Gareth said softly. "When he thought that I was really bad…he used to take me on holiday with him…"
"Holiday?" Tim asked, hoping that Gareth would clarify this for him.
Gareth had the feeling of phantom hands touching him again and he shuddered.
"He and his friends…"
The sudden shriek from the tea kettle saved him from explaining further and he smiled faintly as he took the kettle off of the stove and poured the hot water into the cup.
He then thought for a moment as he looked at the steam and he shuddered faintly.
"He one time used hot water." He said as he poured the rest down the sink.
"What?" Tim asked, tilting his head slightly as if he had not heard that right.
"He caught me having a little tea party with me mum and her friend Kath when I was seven and he boiled a real kettle of water and poured it down my bare back." Gareth explained, looking down at the ground.
"Jesus…" Tim muttered.
"He never stepped in to help me." Gareth said with a shrug. "No matter how many times I asked Him to."
Awkward silence fell between the two of them then as Tim slowly started to drink his cup of tea.
"What were you going to say before the kettle went off?" he asked.
"Hmm?"
"You were talking about your father taking you on holiday with him and his friends."
Gareth blushed and he sat down, wringing his hands together as the phantom hands came back, getting rougher as they seemed to slide up to his inner thighs and he suddenly yelped and pressed his hands against his temples.
Tim gasped softly and he set his cup down, placing a hand on his shoulder as he tried to calm him down.
"Gareth? Gareth! Calm down! Gareth, you're in your apartment with me, Gareth! You were going to read my leaves when I was finished, aye?" he asked.
"I'm not a bender…" Gareth whimpered softly.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Tim asked gently, stroking his cheek with the back of one hand without even thinking about it. "Gareth…"
"Me dad…he always said that I was a bender what needed to be taught a lesson!" Gareth wept softly, his shaking thin hands barely covering his face.
"What would he do to you, Gareth?"
"He would take me on holiday with his mates and let them force me to do stuff with them!" Gareth said and he broke down then, crying against Tim's neck as his body started to tremble like a leaf in the wind.
Tim wrapped his arms around him and he sighed as he gently ran his fingers through his hair for a moment, rocking him back and forth.
"You know what? I think we can hold off on the tea reading for tonight." He said, pulling back for a moment so that he could look at Gareth.
"M'sorry…" Gareth said softly, looking down at the ground sadly. "I…I can do it before we go to the wake maybe…"
"Sure thing, mate." Tim nodded with a smile. "Do you think you can get to bed on your own or should I stay with you?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine." Gareth said as he shook his head and Tim nodded.
"All right. Try to get some sleep, Gareth."
"I will." Gareth nodded and Tim smiled and gave him a wave as he soon left him alone.
Gareth sighed and hesitated for a moment before he then turned to Tim's cup and poured out the contents into the sink.
He was going to scrape out the insides when he decided to look inside of it first and he frowned slightly as he read the tea leaves, tilting his head to one side curiously.
According to the leaves, Tim was going to learn about great suffering related to a friend of his.
Gareth frowned as he thought about this for a moment and his eyes slowly grew wide as he realized what it meant.
"I knew reading tea leaves wasn't daft!" He muttered softly, putting everything away before going to bed.