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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 18:55:22 GMT -5
Keith had slumped himself down against a wall in his living room with a bottle of whiskey as he caught his breath. The… general rage had passed for the moment, and he looked around to see the damage he had cause.
For starters the tv was broken, laying on its side on the floor with the screen completely cracked. The coffee table was upside down with one of the legs off near the television. The couch had been flipped on its back with the cushions thrown on the opposite side of the room. A few parts of the walls were caved in, some actually had holes. Keith's knuckles were still pretty red and scratched up from it, but he couldn't care right now if he tried.
One night. One stupid night was all it took. Just one night and now there was a woman DEAD because he wasn't careful. He tried forgetting it, not thinking about it and instead focusing on Gabriel. Focusing on his son because he hoped that maybe, just maybe if he was a good enough father that it would make up for everything that he couldn't do for the boy's mother.
But apparently Tamara had a sister who had stormed into his shop earlier that day, SCREAMING at him and calling him a murderer. She said that it was all his fault, and if he knew any better that he should give Gabe up before he could ruin his life too… and maybe she was right. Who was he to think that HE could be a decent father? No, no Gabe deserved so much better.
The inked Tora pressed the bottle to his lips gulped down as much as he could before the burning in his throat got to be too much. With any luck he'd drink enough to pass out soon.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 19:10:28 GMT -5
Satoru didn't bother knocking. Don, had called him earlier that day about Keith suddenly dropping of Gabe with him without any word. The Tora had been... 'off' had been Donut's description. Keith wasn't usually 'off' he was consistent. It was one of the reasons Satoru liked him. He was solid.
So Keith being off was worrisome. Like hell Satoru was going to give him the opportunity to lock him out.
He opened the door to chaos and stalled for a second. This? This was both precisely his expectation and not at all what he had hoped for. It made sense, he supposed, for Keith to remove Gabe from the situation if he was going to explode. Didn't make the sheer amount of collateral damage any less impressive. "I hope the TV had it coming..." He quipped, Keith wasn't facing the door, hopefully that would draw his attention.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 19:25:49 GMT -5
It didn't surprise Keith at all that Satoru had shown up, he knew the moment Donato had seen him when he dropped off Gabe that the shorter man would end up finding out and coming to check on him. He took another long gulp of the whiskey and sat it down. "…Not gonna talk 'bout it…" He mumbled, still not facing the other Tora.
He knew he was have to talk at this point though, he couldn't keep avoiding it. He just didn't have the strength, he was tired and worn out and all he wanted to do was pass out. He was half hoping Satoru could knock him out or something, drinking was taking too long.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 19:58:54 GMT -5
Satoru sighed and limped over, snagging the whiskey and placing it by their feet. The coffee table was in no condition to hold anything right now anyway. "Too bad, because you just trashed the apartment, so you're going to talk about it." His tone brokered no argument around most, but Keith could be stubborn when he wanted to be...
Normally the gunslinger might let his not wanting to talk about it slide, but there was a lot of damage here. Don had even picked up on things for god's sake. This wasn't something he could, in good faith, leave alone.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 20:20:55 GMT -5
Keith blinked as the bottle was taken from him and sighed. This was lame, he didn't WANT to talk about it so he should have to. Though, he wasn't in the mood to argue right now, so he might as well comply. Just, where to start…
"This, uh, this chick came into the shop today." He started, talking just a little quieter than usual. "Turned out she was Tamara's sister... Came in just to tell me off, now aren't I special?" He gave a tired laugh at the poor joke and continued.
"Called me a murderer, said if I cared 'bout Gabe I'd give 'im up before I mess up his life." That one, that was the phrase that killed him the most. "Probably right, too…"
Keith could remember the last time he'd cried, it was just something he didn't do, but the thought of losing his son was something he couldn't take. His eyes were starting to water, and he quickly screwed them shut to keep anything from leaking out.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 20:38:14 GMT -5
Satoru knew only what most of the shop knew of the blond, that she had been crazy and a stalker and manipulative as hell, and that she had died somewhere in the expanse of Gabe's birth and retrieval. The kid, he was aware, had nearly died. He didn't know too much beyond that other than he hated her with a passion and had she still been alive he likely would have shot her full of lead and enjoyed it. Intensely.
"She doesn't know shit," Satoru snorted out, moving a hand up to run through Keith's hair. The size difference wasn't so glaring when they sat, thankfully. "She threatened Gabe to get to you... Both of them, actually." He added on, both sisters seemed intent to use the blond babe against Keith in some capacity.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 20:51:11 GMT -5
"Still probably right." He mumbled. He relaxed a little at the touch of his hair and he almost leaned into it, almost. "'m a bad dad." He could barely afford to get Gabe the things he needed, and if things kept going the way they were in the next few years he wouldn't even be able to give his son his own room. He barely had time to spend with him unless he took him to work, but even then a lot of that time was spent with customers.
"Gabe needs better." His voice cracked at that, and if he had the energy he would have hit his head against the wall behind him for it.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 21:07:12 GMT -5
Satoru flicked Keith's forehead. "Shut up, you're not a bad dad," he admonished before his hand returned to stroking the curly head of hair. The gimp would have killed for a dad like Keith in his life when he was younger. "You're doing the best you can, you spend all your free time worrying about him and keeping him nearby."
He smiled, "They couldn't find a better dad for him if they tried," Satoru was doing his best to help out the other Tora, but it was... a bit awkward. They had been together a while but when was long enough to offer to help take care of your partner's kid if need be?
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 21:30:38 GMT -5
Keith flinched a little at the flick. That strangely helped some, enough to wake him up at least. The younger man turned his head to face Satoru finally. "Ya think so?" He wasn't sure he believed it completely just yet, but the assurance was nice, especially from Satoru. He could count on the gunslinger to give him an honest opinion, he liked that.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 21:43:13 GMT -5
"In my experience, adoptive parental-figures aren't exactly great." Granted, his experiences could generally be classified as 'hell,' so that could be taken into consideration. "Besides, you're busy now so you won't have to be later," he shrugged. "You're doing fine."
"Besides," he continued. "You're all the family he's got." He... Well, as much as he wanted to be part of Gabe's family, he wasn't really yet. Maybe in the future. Maybe.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 21:58:13 GMT -5
Keith managed a small smile. That… that actually helped some. "I guess you're right." He said after a long pause. He wasn't perfect by any stretch of the word, but maybe if he kept trying… maybe he'd be able to pull off a miracle.
The taller of the two sunk low enough to where he could easily rest his head on Satoru's shoulder. It was a little odd at first since he wasn't use to it, but he felt like he should for the moment, it felt nice.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 22:14:10 GMT -5
Satoru shifted a bit so he was leaning against the armrest of the couch while he stroked the younger man's hair. It was kinda nice to have Keith doing this... "And seriously, if you ever need help..." He left the offer hanging, not sure how to properly phrase it without it sounding strange.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 22:26:57 GMT -5
Keith's smile grew more genuine as he listened to Satoru. He honestly didn't mind? He had been so worried about asking because he didn't know if it would be okay but, well this was good. Great even. "Yeah, thanks." He replied quietly.
He put his arms around the older man, almost like he was scared he would leave. It was silly, Keith knew, but he stilled liked to have the comfort in assuring himself that Satoru wasn't going anywhere. After so many people coming and going, it was nice for him to have something stable for once.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 22:41:42 GMT -5
Satoru shut his eyes and basked in the the warm embrace of another human being, fingers tangling in Keith's hair. This was nice, he hadn't had something this solidly comforting in... well, ever. His earliest memory was the slats of a closet letting light stream in and terror.
And now... Now he had this. He hugged Keith tight, needed this just as much as the younger Tora seemed to.
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Post by Keith Alabaster on Jan 19, 2014 23:06:55 GMT -5
Keith's own eyes were shut as well, perfectly content in the moment as it was. A simple thought ran through his head that made his cheeks darken ever so slightly. He… no, that just sounded stupid, the didn't tell people that. Then again, he guessed it would be okay to…
The inked man almost seemed shy as he spoke. "Hey, I, uh… I love you." Oh god please don't make him look like an idiot.
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