wintcrwinds - Tumblr blog

[wintcrwinds]

[wintcrwinds]

Fry is on his way home from the general store, a bag of groceries carefully tucked under one arm and Scout trotting along obediently behind him. It ultimately seemed rather pointless to put her on a leash after they moved out to the Valley, their surroundings largely lacking in both traffic and loud noises. It’s not as if she ever strays far from his side anyway.

Even the sudden appearance of a sleek black cat does little to perturb Scout, and she only blinks at the smaller creature when she finds it in her path, sniffing the air around it with curiosity. “Hey, mind your manners,” Fry tells her in quiet Spanish, gently pushing her nose away as he crouches down, then slowly offering his hand to the cat so she can butt her head against it. The corner of his mouth betrays the hint of a smile in the company of the two animals.

The arrival of Nova’s companion draws Fry’s gaze for only a moment, because frankly he’s more interested in petting a cat than speaking to another human. “Mm,” he answers absently. “Can’t imagine she’d like a harness much. Being a cat.”

Sloane had been taking the cat fae and Jemma co-parented out on a walk as a break from tending to faer shop. In the recent months since setting up an online store front, business was finally picking up and fae was able to make some upgrades and start repaying some debts. To top it off, now Sloane had a cat companion in faer van on the weekends while in Pelican town.

Just as fae were reflecting on the recent change of events, the young black cat wiggled out of her harness and ran off to the person walking faer way. “Nova, come back here!” fae called to faer cat, jogging after her. The cat kept trotting until she could rub against the other person. “Sorry about that - she really likes to greet people and we’re still working on the harness training thing.”

[wintcrwinds]

Three months of working with Jemma has given Fry something of a sixth sense for imminent destruction, and he’s able to catch hold of the off-balance chair as he walks by, setting it back on all four legs without even breaking his stride. “It’s fine,” he says roughly as he heads back behind the counter, surveying the woman and her suitcases with a raised brow. “Are you moving in? Or do you always bring three bags with you to a bar?”

it had been a whirlwind of a month for zola. she had been called away for a special tour for ana indiana, something about a nostalgia reunion with her and some other stars when they were on the same tv show back in the day (they were children and wore awful clothes, but they were also best friends – just busy best friends). media sources these days were really banking on nostalgia as a selling factor nowadays. anyway, she was back in stardew valley, a place she can’t exactly call home yet, but that’s where her stuff was stored for the time being. she came crashing into the saloon, having lost control of her luggage and knocking over one of the chairs. “oh, shit… that’s my bad… sorry!”

[wintcrwinds]

jupiterdrcps·:

kiran had a lot on his mind. he didn’t know how to say, i’ve been staying in my house all day and barely made an effort this season’s crops. he didn’t know how to say that he misses his friend because it was so hard for kiran to make friends. he didn’t know how to say, my dad died in may and it’s always the hardest month for him because it feels like it’s just too much to bear. the only person that he had seen was really malia, and that’s because she brought him food that she made for her and her roommate. he just felt like a husk of a person, trapped in his mind thinking that everything was sort of pointless because what was the person of anything lately? he had gotten like this before, after his dad died, after he ruined the funeral, but it felt different this year. everything did. 

so when matty asks what’s wrong. he doesn’t know what to say. he looks down at his empty sketchbook, the impulse to tear out all the pages is still strong but the anger is slowly starting to subside. “i’m having a rough time.” he eventually says, looking down at his pencils. it was his fifth year without his dad, also the fifth year that he and his mom stopped talking, sometimes, he misses her voice even though she’s still alive. they just don’t know how to talk to each other anymore. “lizzie’s gone,” he starts off, thinking of art and knowing that he wasn’t handling it well. my mom won’t talk or look at me, “and i’m just tired.”

I’m having a rough time.

It’s all Matty needs to hear. He sits back up, hesitating for only a moment before he wraps his arms tightly around Kiran, resting the point of his chin on his shoulder. It’s such a simple gesture, but it’s the best he can think to do - and he is starting to learn that actions can mean just as much as words. How many times, when things were bad with him, had he just wanted a hug? That simple reassurance that somebody was there? It’s something Matty knows he can give. He wants Kiran to understand that no matter what’s going on with him, he’ll never be alone.

“I didn’t know about Lizzie,” he says softly, “Maybe she’ll come back?” Perhaps it’s naïve, but it wasn’t long ago that Matty himself had left the Valley suddenly, only to return after a few weeks - it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Lizzie’s just... taken a little break, right?

[wintcrwinds]

jupiterdrcps·:

kiran was silently suffering. he missed lizzie, he was sad about his dad, his passion for fainting was no longer existent, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. he felt lost. lonely. he was normally good in his solitude but the past few months had proven otherwise. he looks down at the blank canvas, the blank sketchbook, he wants to tear out all the pages of attempts that he tried, never being satisfied with it. he wants to run and leave the valley and go somewhere and start over again, that’s what he usually does when he feels like this. thinking that a fresh start will solve all his problems like he didn’t leave the olds one’s there. he liked to pretend that they don’t exist but it’s funny how ghosts have a way of catching up to him. 

when he sees matty he doesn’t really know how to act around him anymore. he doesn’t even know where they stand but he nods his head for the empty space for him. he briefly smiles at the cheeto mention before taking out the hummus he made and the homemade chips, sliding them over if matty wanted some of those, too. he taps his pen against the sketch and feels something stuck in his throat thinking of matty’s drawing at the festival. 

Even if the silence wasn’t a dead giveaway, they’ve known each other for long enough now that Matty can tell when there’s something up with Kiran - it’s getting him to actually talk about it that so often proves difficult... Yes, he’d opened up a little the night he’d stayed over at Matty’s apartment, but it feels like they’ve hardly seen each other since then. Things are still so weird between them, and he hates it. 

When he’s given the all-clear, Matty flops down on the blanket, getting out the cheetos and setting them down between them so he can use his (mostly) empty backpack as a pillow. He stares up at the sky, trying to decide what to do - if he should acknowledge the obvious or let it slide.

After a moment of quiet, Matty finds his gaze drifting back to Kiran, as it so often does. He looks... sad. Lost. And the blank pages of his sketchbook have not gone unnoticed. “Hey,” he begins in a soft voice, giving Kiran’s knee a gentle prod. "What’s wrong?”

[wintcrwinds]

don’t you think they’re the same thing? love and attention? - for matty.

listen here || tracklist below

breezeblocks by alt-j - please don’t go, i’ll eat you whole / i love you so, i love you so, i love you so

tighten up by the black keys - i wanted love, i needed love / most of all, most of all

i wanna get better by bleachers - i didn’t know i was lonely ‘til i saw your face / i wanna get better, better, better, better / i wanna get better / i didn’t know i was broken ‘til i wanted to change / i wanna get better

i like (the idea of) you by tessa violet - get everything that you want, my love, my time, my money / you think that i’d learn, but i love your touch is sweet like honey / there’s nothing i wouldn’t do to hear you call me funny

poor little rich boy by regina spektor - poor little rich boy / all the couples have gone / you wish that they hadn’t / you don’t wanna be alone

cat’s in the cradle by harry chaplin - the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon / little boy blue and the man in the moon / “when you coming home dad?” “i don’t know when” / but we’ll get together then / you know we’ll have a good time then

smother by daughter - in the darkness i will meet my creators / they will all agree i’m a suffocator, suffocator, suffocator / oh love / i’m sorry if i smothered you / i’m sorry if i smothered you / i sometimes wish i’d stayed inside my mother

how soon is now? by the smiths - you shut your mouth, how can you say / i go about things the wrong way? / i am human and i need to be loved / just like anybody else does

nobody by mitski - i’ve been big and small / and big and small / and big and small again / and still nobody wants me / still nobody wants me

all i want by kodaline - all i want is / and all i need is / to find somebody / i’ll find somebody like you

[wintcrwinds]

[wintcrwinds]

(06/04/2021, 11:46am) Fry ➝ Jemma Liang @silvcrlining

Take the day off tomorrow. And check your mailbox.

Inside Jemma’s mailbox is a plain white envelope, the front simply reading ‘happy birthday’ in Fry’s scratchy handwriting. Inside is 50G.

[wintcrwinds]

Matty rattles through town on his skateboard, kind of thinking he’ll head over to Mayor Lewis’s house to see if he’ll consider letting him work at the movie theatre when it opens. It’s not like he really needs a job, nor has he ever had one before, but maybe it’ll be good to have something to channel his energy into. Plus, if it does end up having an arcade inside, who could be better qualified to work there than him?

He’s trying to plan out in his head what exactly he’s going to say when a familiar, acrid smell meets his nostrils and he stops, flipping his board up into his arms. It doesn’t take much looking for him to spot Kiran where he’s settled under a tree, the tell-tale plume of smoke emitting from his mouth. Matty hasn’t really seen him since he stayed the night at his apartment, but something about the scene in front of him reminds him of better times - Kiran’s birthday, in particular. It draws him in. “Got room on your blankie for me? I’ve got cheetos in my backpack.”

@qvietlight​ @wintcrwinds​

kiran was outside with his sketchbook and his planner underneath one of the trees with a blanket spread out. it was spring now, the flowers were starting to bloom again and there was work to be done on the farm. he was in the middle of figuring out what he was going to do with the farm and it’s future crops for the summer, he had a list of things that he wanted to accomplish, a thing he had been doing since his dad died and he took over the farm. with only a month to go for his dad’s death anniversary he wasn’t really looking forward to it but he knew that he needed to persevere through it. and then there was lizzie leaving and him being sad about it. he sighs now, grabbing the joint from behind his ear and lights it, tapping his pen against the planner and looking over at his sketchbook which hasn’t been touched in months and he thinks about how much winter had sucked any sort of creativity out of him. he didn’t know what he wanted to do anymore, it seemed like not much brought him joy and he knew that it was partially his fault for that. 

[wintcrwinds]

silvcrlining·:

“If I am, no one has told me yet.” They shrug. “I mean, I just came up with the idea. I’m guessing Lewis is in charge of hiring whoever it is to run it.” It’s not really something they had given much though to– especially now, the movie theater was much too easy to forget about. Despite the anxiety running through their body, though, there’s a small moment of respite; a chuckle escapes them as he lists off possible names for the new owner. “Huh.” is the only response they give. Well, at least the valley had kept moving along without them.

Finley settles into silence once again until the nudge to their side takes them out of their train of thought. They glance at Matty, tilt their head for a moment, then look back out at the sea. “… I mean, after what happened at the dance, it’s kinda hard not to feel… off.” They say with a humorless laugh, though they look at him out of the corner of their eye after a second, because they’re starting to question if Matty even knows what went on that night.

Matty frowns, because honestly he was under the impression that if someone creates a business, they’re automatically in charge of it. That’s how it is for his parents, after all, and for the Mercers and the Floreses and Elaine and... well, pretty much everyone he knows. “Don’t you think it’d be kind of dope to work there though? I mean, you came up with it, you must like movies and stuff, right?” He thinks if it was his cinema, he’d do themed events based on what movies were showing. Any excuse for a costume party!

“Oh, right, that,” he says nonchalantly, as if he knows exactly what they mean. But then he immediately shakes his head, “I actually have no idea what happened. I went to the bathroom around the time the karaoke started, and when I got back the mood was, like, super uncomfortable and everyone kind of just... went home? I don’t know, man, a lot of drama happens at these parties...” Of course Halloween was a nightmare, and New Year’s Eve was a bust for Matty personally - maybe all the Pelican Town social events are simply cursed? Much to consider, but first: “Want to talk about it?”

[wintcrwinds]

silvcrlining·:

In a blur, Elaine is left alone at the entrance. She blinks, stands at the door frame unsure of what to do before she hesitantly takes a step forward and into the home, closing the front door behind her. It’s hard to ignore the small bits of chaos scattered about as she heads deeper into the home, standing idly by the living room. She’s hardly one to judge, though; her house has been in worse shape before.

She watches with vague amusement as Matty begins searching for… whatever it is he’s looking for, a barely there but fond smile curling along her lips. But he’s rather reckless in his search, and Elaine instinctively steps forward as the markers clatter to the ground. “Oh– Be careful.” She says as she kneels down to begin picking up the markers while he continues looking, and tries to fill up the silence as she bundles the markers up in her hands. “I, um, I saw your piece at the fair exhibition– It was… It was really beautiful.”

Just as Matty is about to lay his hands on the poorly wrapped gift he had been searching for, Elaine distracts him by mentioning the founders festival, and he turns around so quickly that he bumps the table and sends yet another wave of stuff cascading across the floor. How did she know it was him?!

“Whaaa-? I didn’t- I mean, that wasn’t my- I wasn’t even at the fair, and frankly how do I know that you didn’t submit the artwork, hm? Check and mate!” He babbles frantically, trying to lie even though 1) he’s terrible at it and 2) all the evidence that gives away his involvement is literally right there in front of them. Most of the detritus on his desk is directly related to the canvases he’d sent in for the fair - colour tests and abandoned concepts and several pages of character design for each resident of the town - and though he’d worked very hard on them, it just feels... embarrassing, maybe? His cheeks have certainly gone very red...

[wintcrwinds]

jvnimo·:

As soon as he noticed one of the chickens was missing, Art hurtled out of the coop door, crying out, “Bonnie!” The door swung side-to-side before it stilled while slightly ajar. Not that Art noticed, since he’d run around a tree searching for Ms. Bonnie. “There you are!” he let out a sigh of relief when he saw her hanging out with– “Oh, hey, Fry.”

Fry has just managed to coax Bonnie into his arms when Art comes tearing out onto the dirt path, and he straightens up, the soft expression on his face rapidly melting away in the presence of another human. “Art,” he replies, nodding curtly.

He goes to hand Bonnie back to her owner, but hesitates when he notices the other, unsupervised chickens already starting to escape through the open door of the coop behind him. “You should put chicken wire up if you’re going to let your birds wander around the yard,” Fry says with a frown. “There are foxes in the woods.��

[wintcrwinds]

The saloon is pretty quiet tonight, but that’s exactly how Fry likes it. He had closed the kitchen and sent both the girls home an hour ago, leaving himself and Scout to man the fort in relative peace as the odd patron filters in and out. The only downside to being alone behind the bar is that when someone he’d rather avoid, such as the young man from Flores Flowers, needs serving, he has no option but to do it himself. Small talk isn’t Fry’s strong suit at the best of times... so he doesn’t make any!

“Your beer,” he says gruffly, setting it down in front of Gabe and immediately beginning to fill his tray with empties from the surrounding tables.

@qvietlight​ @wintcrwinds​

it was rare when gabe got a night to himself, but thalia had wanted a sleepover with her cousins and tonight was finally the night that it was all happening. after dropping her off at her cousins he had found himself heading towards the saloon since he didn’t visit as much as he liked. the last time that he had come was valentines day and it was late by the time he had gotten there. gabe didn’t know what to do with thalia had gone, it was almost like he had forgotten that he was a person before he had become a father. he had set his phone on the table and ordered himself a beer and was looking around the place not knowing if he wanted to try and interact with people tonight. that was another thing, gabe felt like he didn’t know how to talk to people outside of his work and flowers. he felt… lost. or out of place. 

[wintcrwinds]

@jvnimo​

It’s early morning, and Fry is out for a run. It’s been nearly a month since he moved to the area, and it quickly became part of his routine to take some time out in nature before his day actually begins, to appreciate the beauty of the Valley while there’s nobody else around to see it.

On his way back into town he jogs past some of the farmsteads, though he quickly comes to a halt when he notices a solitary, plump chicken resting in the path ahead. “Hola, chiquita, ¿donde vives?” He murmurs gently, crouching down and trying to coax her over to him.

[wintcrwinds]

jupiterdrcps·:

kiran couldn’t allow himself to view himself in a positive light. no matter how hard he tried he just didn’t see it for himself. when he looked in the mirror he could see what face he put on, the one that he gave the world, all that confidence and bravado, a big personality hiding how truly small and insignificant that he feels. it’s hard to think that he deserves to be seen as anything else other than a waste of space. he knows that he’s harsh on himself, when everyone and their mother tells you what they think you are it’s hard not to believe it. kiran fucked up too many times, not even because he really wanted to but just because it was who he was. he didn’t know how to stay still, didn’t know how to care for anyone that wasn’t in his circle, maybe too afraid to be hurt. it was all hard to process. “of course.” he eventually says, thinking back to when he was living in los angeles, how she called him that night and told him that he needed to come home, and he did. because she asked him to. “there’s only a few people i’d drop everything for.” he doesn’t look at matty, he can’t. he’s already said too much. 

when matty starts talking he thinks back to those two different lives that they live. how their experiences have clearly changed them. he doesn’t know what it was like for matty growing up, but he knows that it must have been lonely. kiran had been lonely too, but in a different way. “uncle,” kiran says, his fingers tapping against his mug. he doesn’t know if matty had an uncle, but the way that he says it sounds like he wouldn’t want to elaborate anyway. instead he just smiles, a sad smile and nods, “that’s a good uncle.” he gulps now, “he loved you enough to want to try to teach you something. maybe that’s something.” he thinks back very briefly to all the things that he had tried to teach matty in that limited time, hoping that maybe through those small cracks that matty would get it, because he was too much of a coward to actually say it. 

“i don’t know if i believe in all of that.” spirits, or really anything, he felt totally alone in the universe but maybe people weren’t totally wrong in their believes, it wouldn’t be the first time that kiran was wrong about something. “but it’s nice to think about it.” he misses his dad. he doesn’t know what their relationship would be like now, but he knows deep down it would still be nonexistent because he wouldn’t be in the valley. so many things had to happen to get kiran here, in this moment, it was overwhelming. 

kiran doesn’t know if it’s a good idea for him to stay, but he was already an inherently selfish person, he decided to let himself have this one night at least. it wasn’t as sad as their last night, at new years eve, which he still feels regretful about but he knew that he made the right decision then. they hadn’t spoken since then and all of these overwhelming feelings were coming back and threatening to choke him. when they get back to matty’s bedroom he waits for him to get under the covers, taking off his shoes first. when he asks if he wants to borrow anything he shakes his head with a small smile, “i’m okay.” he improvises with just wearing the shirt he was wearing now and prepares himself knowing that he’s about to spend the night with matty and not run. he gets under the covers with him, and he can feel the tiredness radiating off of matty and he gulps, reaching out to grab matty and pull him closer towards him. “get some sleep.” he whispers, his eyes staring at the wall, looking at their shadow. 

For a moment, Matty just lies there, quietly revelling in the familiar, comforting weight of Kiran’s arm around him. It’s been difficult, relearning how to sleep without the presence of another person, how to stop reaching out, only half-conscious, for someone who isn’t there. Another beat passes and Matty rolls over in Kiran’s embrace, shuffling ever-closer until he can bury his face in the fabric of his t-shirt, his hand curled in a loose fist over Kiran’s heart. The breath that leaves him then is snuffling, shaky, like he’s been holding it in for some time - it feels like relief, to finally let it out. Everything he’s thought over the last few months, the doubts he’s had about what they mean to each other, quickly fade into the background. He couldn’t have invented this feeling, could he? This sense of safety, of love, of belonging can’t just be a figment of his imagination... It’s real. They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t real.

“Kiran?” He murmurs softly, voice muffled against Kiran’s chest. “Thanks for... for staying with me... nobody ever stays...” Unable to keep his eyes open a moment longer, his words trail off, and within seconds Matty is snoring gently.

[wintcrwinds]

jupiterdrcps·:

the varani family was hard to love. they all came off very intimidating and maybe even a little bit cold. his parents were a pillar in the community, though it didn’t come with limitations. kiran, was the worst of all of them though. destroying whatever good reputation his parents tried to front. his family was good people, sometimes kiran thinks that the reason why amee was bullied so often was because of him. assuming that she was like him, but more often than not, amee held her own. even punched back when needed to. so it’s hard not to smile at what matty says about her. amee was everything that he wasn’t. and it’s weird to think that at one point he was needed by his little sister. “i actually think it’s the other way around.” he says a little more quietly. he nods anyway. it’s what family was for. 

“i think there’s a bit of a difference though,” he starts to say, he doesn’t know if he really wants to dive into it, kiran and matty were known to not being very good at talking about their past with each other, but kiran was feeling a little brave. “did you parents ever teach you how to cook? my mom tried, i just didn’t listen.” he thinks about matty, and how lonely it must have been, only having someone that wasn’t your parents making you food. sure, when you’re a kid your parents could teach you a thing or two, but if they weren’t consistently there then what’s the point? but when matty starts talking about his dad, and that connection, there’s a lump in his throat. it stays there for a while, and he’s finding it hard to swallow.

 “it’s uh, it’s funny how i only ever felt connected to him after he died.” he looks away now, out the window, over looking the valley. “my dad died in the spring. right when the flowers are starting to bloom, right when you can start planting seeds for your next crop. something ending, another thing beginning.” his voice drifts off, watching as the sun starting to set out the window. the sky was beautiful, spring around the corner, it staying lighter later. “anyway, despite what i think my father would think of me, i like your assumption better.” he says, looking down at his own mug of chai. 

“i think your body says otherwise.” kiran says with a soft smile. but what matty says next makes something hurt inside of him. kiran didn’t have any idea how this night would end, and if he was, for once, being honest with himself, he didn’t want to leave or be alone either. he had spent so much time alone, once he knew what it was like to have another person in his space he figured out how much that he liked it. craved it. “come on.” he says, holding his hand out for matty to take. “you need to sleep.” he gulps now, taking a small deep breath. “i’ll stay.”

“Why can’t it be both?” Matty asks simply. “You don’t see what she sees, you know? You don’t see yourself the way other people see you... The stuff you do that you think is nothing, or that you don’t think about at all, we notice it. Just because you screw up sometimes doesn’t mean you aren’t still a good and supportive brother. I mean, if she needed you, wouldn’t you go running?” There is so much to love about Kiran, and he has so much love to give. Matty wishes he could explain it all, make him understand, make him less afraid of it.

“Well, no,” he allows, “But, like, to be fair to them, I don’t know when they would’ve found the time. When I was a kid, my parents worked three jobs between them, and I couldn’t stand still for long enough to learn anything anyway - it’s just one of those things that fell through the cracks, I guess.” It’s hard not to defend his parents, to make excuses for them, even now. Shouldn’t they be here? He was in a rockslide, for fuck’s sake, and they probably don’t even know. Matty doesn’t want to talk about them anymore. “My... uncle tried to teach me a little when I was in high school, but he gave up when I managed to burn the bottom out of a frying pan. Like, the bottom literally dropped out.” He doesn’t have an uncle - he has Bartholomew, who this story is actually about. Matty’s family is small, and it only feels like its getting smaller. It feels like he’s by himself.

Even though Kiran can’t see him, Matty nods at what he says, though he has no frame of reference for grief, and could never truly understand the depth of what it means to lose someone. “It’s nice to think about it that way,” he says softly, “Something about being in the flowers and trees, and that being some kind of forever. I don’t know.”

It’s such a simple thing, for someone to stay with you when you need them, but Matty suddenly, unexpectedly, feels like he might cry. He’s been alone for so long, and so deeply, desperately sad underneath it all, that for someone to finally say that they will stick around for him is just... it’s a lot. In fact, it’s everything. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Matty takes Kiran’s hand and gets up from the couch, letting his blanket drop to the floor and pool around his ankles as he starts off towards his bedroom. He doesn’t know what to say. The only thing that comes to mind is ‘I love you’, so he keeps his mouth shut.

It doesn’t feel safe to speak again until they’re in his room, and Matty finally lets go of Kiran’s hand so he can get ready for bed. He quickly strips out of the superman pyjama pants (because who actually sleeps in pyjamas?), but he keeps the red sweater on, even though it’s long-since lost its comforting smell. “Do you want to borrow something to sleep in?” He asks, already getting under the duvet. This time, he doesn’t even try to cover his yawn. Matty is exhausted.

[wintcrwinds]

silvcrlining·:

The moment she hears the door begin to open, Elaine replaces her furrowed brow for a small smile, trying to at least temporarily hide the worry that she’s been harboring for a week now. “Matty, hi–” She’s almost glad– and amused– when he hyperfocuses on the food, because she hasn’t really planned this conversation out in her head. “Oh, um, yes. I had some leftover pasta I made. I thought you might like some.” She holds out the container for him to take. By leftover, she means she consciously cooked more pasta than necessary.

After handing him the tupperware, her hands link behind her back as she fidgets with her fingers lightly. “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming or anything. I just, um… I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Well, you thought totally right - I love pasta!” He says, taking the tub from her with a grin. Matty bounds off in the direction of his kitchenette, leaving the front door wide for Elaine to follow him inside, if she wants. He needs to figure out how he’s going to apologise to her for the unfortunate series of events that was hunting slimes in the mines, but the fact that she’s here probably means she doesn’t hate him forever... right? He crams the pasta inside his fridge, and turns back around to face her.

“Oh my god, I just remembered, I have something for you too! It’s... uh...” Scratching the back of his head, Matty frowns as he surveys the mounds of chaos that have sprung up around his apartment in the time since Kiran tidied it up. He knows Elaine’s birthday present is somewhere in amongst the mess, but he has no idea where he put it down. “Hold on a sec, I’ll find it.” He crosses back into the living room and starts ransacking all the crap piled up on his desk, sending his markers skittering all over the floor. He doesn't seem to notice.