Lucky for Nyle, the subject change did bring a smile to Leo’s face as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve again. Snorting a tad in disbelief, he quickly nodded before motioning for said cat to move back into frame as he scratched behind his ear affectionately.

“Okay, I’ll save up all of the Storage Wars and The Bachelorette. I alsoc won’t watch any Queer Eye so we can do that together,” he agreed quietly. “I’ll... even try and cook you a meal when you get back as long as you bring some ingredients. I’ve been watching a lot of cooking shows so I can try out my skills.”
 
"Sounds perfect. Besides the cooking part. You can't cook, Leo-- you can barely make toast for me," he reminded with a grin, appreciating the gesture alone. his family and friends might be totally against his relationship now (for very valid reasons) but he didn't take any notice of it. He had forgiven Leo because he understood the reasons for his actions, even if he didn't really like them. What anyone else thought of them dating was irrelevant, however upsetting their disapproval was.

The one month he promised to be back eventually extended to two. His father and sisters all but forced him into counselling and therapy, assuming he was deluded and hurt so much that he refused to see how unhealthy it was, sticking by someone who had tried (and succeeded) to cause him harm. For two months, he was accompanied by them to meetings, talking through problems he knew didn't even exist and whenever he tried to vocalise that, he was told by them that he was simply 'brainwashed'.

Eventually, they couldn't force him to stay in Philadelphia a second longer, having to (reluctantly) accept the fact he had made his choice, however wrong they felt it was. With his passport safely in his pocket and money sent over by Leo, Nyle finally made the long journey back to the small town, which, in his absence, felt even smaller and more quiet than it had before he'd left.

As soon as he entered his home, he dumped his bags by the front door, shrugged his coat off and immediately flopped onto the couch in exhaustion, having had to walk the long distance home from the train station through lack of money for a cab. Even though he hated the fact his family felt it appropriate to dictate his life for him for two months, some of their advice paid off. His therapist had given him some things to focus on; to take his mind off Leo, in the hopes he would move on with his life. Following some healthy diet regime to build up muscle was one of the things on that list, which he had stuck to religiously. It didn't take his mind off Leo, but it was a coping mechanism to avoid losing his mind over his family's strictness with him.

"Leo? I'm back," he called out after a few seconds, forcing his eyes open to glance around for his boyfriend. "...I kinda want a hug or a kiss soon before I get real upset."
 
While time was a bit wonky for the spirit and often seemed to move faster than it did for everyone else, the lack of Leo had slowed that down significantly. The only plus was the fact that he still had contact with the human over the two months... though hearing Nyle’s family constantly bad mouth him only made him angrier.

If he ever met Nyle’s family, it would be difficult to hold back his anger. He had his reputation slandered all the while having no way to defend himself. It was infuriating but... at least Nyle was back home finally. He showed his eagerness by hurrying down the stairs, Bitters in tow, and quickly pulled him into his arms.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered after offering rapid kisses to the human’s cheek. Pulling away with a grin, he dared to lightly squish the other’s arm. “Oof, that therapist really got you working hard? You look so good - oh, the gifts! Did you bring any?” He babbled, igniting the cat as he eagerly hopped onto Nyle’s stomach and began to knead.
 
"I got you lots of cute stuff, it's all out by the front door. It took ages getting here, I'm honestly exhausted," he groaned, though clearly wasn't too tired to affectionately wrap his arms around Leo and hold him close, after giving Bitters an equally affectionate smooth. At the mention of how good he apparently looked, his nose scrunched up in annoyance. Sure, he had grown to enjoy the routine, with it making time feel like it was flying by, but he didn't like having to be forced onto it and assumptions made so rudely about his diet beforehand.

"They said they thought I was putting on weight or something, I dunno. I thought I looked fine," he shrugged casually, propping his feet up onto the coffee table. "It was fucking hell, Leo. I love my family, I do, but they were treating me like I was a fucking kid for months-- I'm glad I'm back here. This town's quiet and all, but god, I missed it-- I missed you most; you and Bitters. Nothing my family said changed that, you know? I don't care what you did; I understand why you did it. I'm over it, it's all cool between us now."
 
“I’m... I’m really sorry,” he whispered as he pressed his face into Nyle’s arm, holding on tight as he practically wrapped himself completely around the other. Just keeping him close for as long as he could, he only moved to peek up with watery eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of this, Nyle,” he insisted. “Just hearing your parents so mad at me, it was... I don’t know, I’m just mad that they wouldn’t listen to me. I know what I did was wrong and I can’t say sorry enough b-but... what else am I supposed to do? I can’t go to Philadelphia and like hell am I letting him stay here. They’re jerks!”
 
"...They're protective parents who don't know our situation, Leo. All they know is that you tried to kill me. They don't know that you did it so we could be together; they don't realise you had good intentions. I get why they dislike you, and that's horrible, but you'll have to get used to it. They can't know the truth so just... deal with it. Just know I won't let them get to me; I'm with you for the rest of my life. You ain't getting rid of me, dude," he snorted, trying to maintain a light atmosphere. There had been enough tears and regret over the months and he was genuinely ready to move on without it.

"Nah, come on. No need to cry, right? It's all good," continued Nyle as he eased his shoes off with a yawn. "I just got back, let's not go over all this. What's happened around here while I've been gone. Has Gigi been around?"
 
“Yeah, and even that guy for the television show came around. I had to just be silent and wait but she left things like cookies and stuff. Probably thinks you’re ignoring her because I may or may not have brought them inside,” he admitted before snatching the remote, exposing the week’s worth of television that he had saved just for him.

“Alright, look at this all!” He huffed. “I didn’t watch a single episode, all for you. Now it isn’t the crazy nightlife of Philadelphia but... it’s not bad, right? I mean, I’m sure you missed snuggling up with me - I feel bad that you had to come so late, the winters get bad,” he admitted before glancing over at the other.

“Look, I... I’m cool with you going out and partying to clubs or whatever. Im sure people won’t give you much problem, I promise. You deserve to have fun...”
 
Nyle could handle the whole town disliking him, even if it was over his sexuality or his loud personality, but potentially upsetting Gigi did make him frown. He had ignored her for awhile, choosing to spend most of his time with Leo, but he still had respect for her and he still recognised her as the only other friend he had in the town, if only because she seemed to accept him when others didn't. If she thought he was ignoring her, he knew he ought to head across the street and pay her a visit to explain his whereabouts the last few months. He owed her that, at least.

"You think people are just gonna accept me doing that shit? They don't like me here, Leo-- or have you not heard the slurs they yell at me when I head to the shops to get groceries? I don't think they'll be very forgiving if I headed out to go clubbing," he mumbled as he slid down in the couch, his eyes rolling at the unforgiving nature of some of his neighbours. Gigi had warned him about it when he first arrived, but he didn't think it was as bad as she said. Now, he thought she had downplayed it massively because it was far worse than he thought it could be - the beating he took during his first week in the town was evidence of that.

"I'll still head out, I might need to learn how to fight back, that's all. I'm useless at fighting but it seems like it'll be necessary, huh?"
 
“Well, you’ve got the muscles for it now...” he reminded, his eyes drifting back to his arms while biting his lip. Shyly looking away, a very light pink grew to his cheeks at just how close he realized they were. To go almost three months without any affection only made the closeness make him all the more flustered. All he wanted was to make out and just remind himself about the other.

“I mean, there’s a lot of space for you to run when it isn’t snowing. We have, like, a good mile of land to ourselves that you can run or... do whatever. Like you said, you could probably beat anyone up if you wanted to. You can also use me as an excuse - say I’m some tough guy that’ll be him up.”
 
"Are you encouraging me to do that too? To exercise? I enjoyed it but I don't want to do it all the time, it's tiring and I'd rather spend my time cuddling on the sofa with you-- but if you want me to take a daily jog, I can do that. I mean, I've been away for months and now you're trying to get me out the house again, but sure, I'll do whatever you want me to do, baby," he huffed, feigning upset, albeit for a maximum of five seconds before the facade broke down. He was a terrible liar to begin with, but especially when it came to Leo. He didn't have it in him to pretend or lie to the person he loved and cared for.

"It'll be cool, I can look after myself, yeah? I can land a mean right-hook if I wanted," he boasted with a playful flex of his bicep, snorting shortly afterwards at how corny he knew he was being. "...I might go out this weekend then, if that's cool with you? Just for a few drinks. Might make a friend or two if I'm lucky."
 
“I mean... if I’m going to be honest, I would rather you stay here of course but I... don’t want you to get distant with me because I’m selfish,” he explained slowly in an attempt to properly express himself. After all, he was notoriously bad at it outside of the internet and he wanted to tread lightly over it all now that Nyle was back.

“Just don’t be out long and keep your phone on you when you go out,” he insisted before pulling away to head to the kitchen to make the mentioned meal. “So I bought some cool books and I’ve been practicing so I think I can make a proper dinner for you. Can’t really taste it so... it’s fine,” he explained eagerly. “It’ll he good either way because I tried.”
 
"You've been practising? The last meal you made me made me sick for three days, remember that? This better be at least edible this time," he teased as he obediently followed behind the ghost, setting himself up on the kitchen island to watch him as he prepared and cooked the meal for him. He could be say on the couch catching up with TV shows he had missed, but after three months away from Leo, he wanted nothing more than to stick around him.

"Of course it'll be good, hm? Even if it tastes like crap, I'll eat it because my boyfriend made it for me-- I appreciate that. If you could eat food and stuff, I'd make you something in return. It's hard to do that when you're kinda a ghost, Leo. I can't whisk you away on dates or anything-- but I was thinking, we could do a really cute date inside? We could set the living room up real nice, string some fairy lights around, bring the duvets downstairs onto the couch and just cuddle up and watch some rom-coms," he grinned, nodding to himself at the idea. It wasn't much, he knew that, but when Leo couldn't leave the house, it was the best he could come up with. "Just something cute like that would be neat."
 
Scrambling for the incredients, Leo fully intended to make a nice pizza. He had the dough ready, having known the other was on the way, and simply had to chop up some vegetables. It wasn’t a five star meal but it was good to start off on, right? His eagerness to cook only faltered a tad upon being reminded of the fact that he was sort of stuck in his home.

“That sounds cute, yeah,” he agreed as he rolled out the dough, groaning at how hard he had to be with it. “I could come up with some date ideas too, if you want? I... don’t want you to get bored with me, to be honest. I wish I could go out with you and have fun.”
 
"...You don't wish that at all, Leo. We both know you're much happier stuck inside, wrapped in a bundle of blankets with Bitters on your lap. You don't need to pretend like you wish you could go out with me, that's just not true-- but I don't mind. I like spending most my time in the house with you. I just need a little break to be social, that's all. I'm a people-person; I like socialising and all that," he explained easily, his smile growing at his boyfriend's attempts to seem like he regretted not heading out with him. Maybe that was true, but all the time he had known Leo, the ghost had never once bemoaned his fate stuck in the home; he had always seemed to shy away from outsiders and remove himself permanently from it all. It was hard to believe that he was genuinely upset about not being able to head out to bars or clubs to get drunk.

"I might ask Gigi if she wants to head out with me. I kinda like her. She's the gossipy middle-aged woman stereotype in all those soap operas, you know? I love people like that. Besides, she seems pretty nice-- she didn't judge me when I told her I was gay, that's major given everyone else seems like a raging fucking homophobe in this town," he shrugged, watching Leo knead the dough with a small smirk on his face. "...You need any help with that? You have noodle arms, Leo-- let me help, yeah?"
 
“I do not have noodle arms,” he huffed, though had no problem backing up and letting the other have a go, especially with his new muscles. “I... may have noodle arms, you’re right. What I lack in physical strength I make up with intelligence,” he proudly admitted.

“Gigi? I mean, like you said she’s s middle aged woman. I can’t imagine her being particularly fun. Like, what? She going to drink a glass of wine and chat about... I dunno, something old people talk about? I mean, it’s up to you. If I ever wanted to go out I would want to get shitfaced and stuff. She seems... boring,” he grumbled admittedly before motioning the other to stop so he could take a quick picture for his instagram. While he couldn’t socialize outside, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be social online, having gotten more than excited when hearing that there were new social media sites since he had a laptop was exciting. His fingers quickly tapped away to include a cheesy caption and tags, he offered a wide smile in excitement. “I’m sure your family won’t be following me anymore.”
 
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"I don't think that's boring. I could go and get drunk with people my own age and dance to some club tune, sure. That's fun. I also think I'd enjoy having some wine with Gigi and listening to her bitch about people in this town, that'd amuse me," he admitted easily, his smile raising at the photograph. He knew his family would all see the image Leo posted and he obviously knew none of them would be particularly happy with him returning to Leo and continuing on with their relationship like nothing had happened. As much as he didn't want to upset them, he would happily encourage his boyfriend to post pictures of their life together.

Maybe then his family would see how happy they were and come around again? It was a big ask, but he couldn't help but cling to that hope.

"Nah, they'll still follow you. I'm sure they're waiting patiently for you to post about our break-up-- it's not going to happen, so keep posting cute pictures of us. If it pisses them off, that's their issue," he shrugged, dusting his hands free of flour with a satisfied smile at his work. "You know, we could invite Gigi here if you didn't want me heading out all the time. I'd love to hit a club and stay out all night once or twice a month, but it's not necessary, Leo."
 
"I don't know if that's good. I mean, at least for me it wouldn't be. She knows what I look like, if she saw me walking about then she'd realize I'm either somehow alive or a ghost. If you invite her, just... tell me and I can head out for awhile," he replied as he went to start dressing the pizza. While he could have just made te other do the work on account that he got bored pretty quickly, it was the least he could do.

"I mean, it's up to you. I'm not the one going out, obviously, but don't feel obligated to get me involved. I'm content staying back and giving you some space sometimes," he reassured with a small smile as he spread the sauce, being as careful and neat as possible in comparison to the way he really lived. He was admittedly a bit of a slob when it came to having food wrappers everywhere and rotten food in the garbage but he could change, right?
 
"If you're sure? I want to do stuff but not if that makes you feel pushed out. I don't know. Compromise is important, right? So if you compromised with me, I'll do that for you. It's all about being fair, yeah? And honest. if we can do that, our relationship will go perfectly," he grinned, moving to stand beside the ghost and, as he watched him work at the pizza, carefully snaked his arms around his waist, leaning in close behind him with an affectionate kiss or two to the base of his neck. He could be romantic and affectionate at the best of times, but after months apart, there was little else he wanted to do - being close to Leo was all he had on his mind.

It didn't need to be anything sexual or even that passionate. Just having Leo close to him and in his arms was good enough.

"I'll just head out tomorrow, maybe with Gigi. I'll be back at a reasonable time so you don't go worrying about me-- I know what you're like, you're too cute with all that. I'm a big boy, I can look after myself, hm? That one incident was a... one-off. No need to worry about me, hon."
 
Purring softly from the affection, his cheeks reddened as he sprinkled the cheese properly. He had ordered the most expensive cheese he could online just for the occasion, along with the sauce, and wanted to make everything as perfect as he could. Though he figured that, as long as it didn't kill the other it was good, right? Once sprinkling the cheese properly, he dared to lean up and offer a kiss on the lips.

Unlike Nyle, Leo never had a physical relationship. He sent pictures and videos, sure, but that was about it. There was never a genuine, physically intimate moment with the people he spoke with online. Because of that, he was desperate to milk affection off of Nyle as much as possible, so sharing an eager kiss was no surprise, especially after being without him for months.

"Okay, yeah. Just keep your phone on you, okay? I know you're saying I shouldn't worry but you know I'm going to anyway, it's just how I work," he reminded in a whisper with a wide grin before moving to face the pizza again to carefully lift the pan into the oven. "I just... want things to be normal for a few days. Give the whole exciting life thing a break for a minute and just get back to normal, yeah?"
 
"I don't think having a glass of wine with Gigi is exactly exciting, living-on-the-edge stuff, babe, but I can wait a few days if you want. Like I said, anything for you," he charmingly smiled, leaning back against the island as he observed the other. As nice as the thought of hitting the town and having fun, it was just as nice being with Leo and doing something cute like this. In many ways, he appreciated it a hell of a lot more.

"Staying at home with you and Bitters would probably be more interesting. I want to see her because she's the town gossip, you know? I like that-- but god, this town doesn't have anything entertaining happening. I doubt there's much gossip to be had," he admitted with a shrug, pouting to himself with a glance out the window. "...It's nice here, but it's not that interesting, is it?"