“A very bad idea. Now I gotta clean the mud up after you before my husband gets home or he’ll have a mighty fit, and you need a shower unless you want that mud frozen to you ‘til spring,” she scolded, her mid-American accent contrasting the other’s as she offered a smile nonetheless.

“You could have ah least called, yeah? You have my phone number, Nyle. Just a call to make sure you were alright would have been nice. I’ll forgivr you, though, yeah?” She reassured, moving to affectionately pat his head. “Just be good, please.”
 
Given the serious lack of a mother figure in his life, Nyle knew he always gravitated towards women like Gigi; anyone who had a motherly nature to them was someone he instantly liked. He didn't really know why Leo didn't understand that, but his boyfriend's dislike for the woman wasn't going to stop him visiting her and continuing the friendship. He was quite happy to annoy Leo if it meant maintaining just one solid friendship-- or perhaps even two if he did get on with her son.

"I'll take a shower back at my place, I... really should get back there. The cat's probably hungry and missing me, so... thanks, Gigi. Just tell me when your son's in town, yeah?" He smiled back, reaching for his jacket. In all honesty, the last thing he wanted to do was head back to face Leo, but he had to do it eventually, and it was better to do it sooner rather than later.

"...Leo? I'm back," he called out cautiously once stepping into his home, heading to the kitchen for something greasy to eat to help with his hangover. "...I don't mind talking about things, just no yelling."
 
“I don’t want to talk to you right now,” came his voice in response, with the ghost being nowhere in sight. The fact he wasn’t yelling or screaming was a good sign, in a way, right. A pause came as Bitters hurried inside behind Nyle from the cold.

“You look like shit,” came Leo’s voice again, followed by a few emotional sniffles. “Did you have fun, fucking yourself up? Looks like you did. Fucking.... why did you even come back? You should have had someone pick up your things and just get out of this stupid town.”
 
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"Because this is my home and you're my boyfriend and... I don't want to give up, is that so bad? That I want to make things work? Gigi gave me advice and I think I can cope living here. You're here, Leo. That's the main thing that's keeping me from fucking leaving," he admitted, absently peering around for any sign of the other, until realising that it was utterly futile. Leo clearly didn't want to be seen and demanding he make an appearance was a waste of his time and energy.

Instead, he quietly leaned down to show Bitters his affection, smiling to himself at the loving purrs.

"I had fun, sure. Met some guys, got drunk-- normal stuff, Leo. I might go out again tonight, who knows? If I have fun, what's the big deal?"
 
“Yes it is! Clearly, ‘cuz every time you go out to ‘have fun’, you come back looking like proper shit. You deserve it, though, I guess because you have the audacity to taunt me, telling me to ‘lay back and wallow’ o-or whatever. Do you know how fucking rude that is? You know that’s all I can do. I can’t.... I can’t do anything fun like that, you don’t have to rub it in my fucking face,” he replied, his voice raising just a tad, though he eventually made an appearance in the kitchen, rubbing his face to wipe away tears.

“You clearly enjoy being out there more than you enjoy spending time with me, that’s why you... you keep leaving,” he whispered, his face hidden by his hands. “I’m boring a-and... weird and... and...” he continued, though he interrupted himself with hard sniffles.
 
"I'm not having this conversation for the fucking millionth time, Leo. I 'look like shit', right? So I want a shower and then I'm gonna go and get some sleep. I'm not going to talk to you if it'll end in another argument, I can't do that again," he sighed in exasperation, briefly glancing at the other once realising he had made an appearance, though failed to stay looking at him for long. He was caught in between emotions, feeling both angry and guilty, and he didn't really want to try and come to terms with that when he could ignore them and save his energy.

"I'm allowed to let loose, Leo. It's not my fault you can't do that. I'm not going to sacrifice my social life because you physically can't have one-- that'd be dumb. I want to go out and meet people, it's nothing to do with your personality. If you were the liveliest person in the world, I'd still want to head out and experience life outside of these fucking four walls, you know? Why can't you get that through your fucking head?!"
 
Silence followed from Leo before he once again disappeared. He technically wasn’t able to leave but he could at least pretend to by instead appearing up in the attic where he had kept his laptop.

Very small spaces seemed to calm him down so, in the many months without Nyle, he made the space his own. Hell, he even bought some furniture and made it his own little pad to give him some sort of warmth instead of being lonely in such a large house. If he was going to have a panic attack, he needed a closed space and one where Nyle couldn’t get to without effort. If he was going to be forced to feel guilty for feelings he saw as 100% valid, he at least wanted to try to calm himself down without the possibility of being yelled at even more.

“Just do whatever you want, I don’t care,” he eventually replied in defeat, pressing his knees to his chest to pull himself closer for comfort. Bitters was downstairs enjoying Nyle’s presence and he had seen the cat as somewhat of an emotional service animal. Without Bitters, it only made him calming down even harder. “That’s what you want, right? To not care?”
 
"And what you want, I assume, is for me to leave? Because you seem to love pointing out how much I stay outside the house, Leo. Either you want me to leave permanently, or you want me to stay-- and if it's the latter, you can't guilt me into doing normal things like making fucking friends." Nyle grumbled, eventually flopping to the couch with his cup of tea. A shower was probably more important, but when he was literally exhausted without an ounce of energy left in him, something as simple as the climb upstairs currently seemed far too daunting for him.

"I just want a normal relationship-- as normal as it can be. You're the one making it difficult," he whispered with a roll of his eyes, which closed soon after to try and get the sleep he needed. "I'll be heading out tomorrow night to the pub, try and make friends in this town. Maybe I'll see Gigi again when her husband's out working, I dunno. i'm entitled to do that."
 
“I just feel like you don’t want to spend any time with me,” he eventually admitted. “I don’t mean to... make you feel bad, Nyle. I don’t - I don’t know what I’m doing, okay? I’m just scared. I’m scared about a lot of things and I know you don’t understand that. You’re just so... normal and cool a-and I feel like I’m not good enough for you,” He babbled on quickly.

“I got that online therapist, she says I... need to be more open with my feelings, it’s the start to ‘getting better’,” he quoted softly before unfurling his legs to set his laptop on his lap. “I’m going... to try and do that. It’s just that I’ve never had anyone to open up to in the flesh, aha...”
 
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"What do you have to be scared of, Leo? You're dead; you're a ghost, yeah? There are tons of movies about how scary all that paranormal shit is to be people, you're the 'scary' one to them," he reminded casually, grimacing to himself at the fact they were having a conversation whilst being in two completely different rooms in the house. He wasn't on good terms with Leo at the moment, but it felt pathetic talking loudly to him whilst he was in the attic. So, with reluctance, he gently nudged Bitters from his lap and climbed the stairs to the attic. Even if Leo didn't want to be seen, it felt better to be in the same room as him - and he correctly guessed where that would be.

"...And if you're fucking scared about me leaving, that's dumb. Do I get annoyed here sometimes? Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna up and leave 'ya, Leo. I am cool-- but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave this town, hm? I already got myself a job," he beamed proudly, ducking his head down to avoid whacking it on the wooden beams above. "You know the town's pub? They said I could clean up glasses and stuff and if I do a good job of that, I can work behind the bar-- people will like me in this town, it'll just take some effort. I made some friends yesterday; I have Gigi and I'm sure her son's gonna be nice enough. I... It's all coming together, Leo. Don't worry, okay?"
 
“Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I’m not scared of things, Nyle,” he replied softly, avoiding the other’s eyes with a soft frown. “I’m scared about what is going to happen to me, I’m scared about you leaving, I’m scared of what the town will do if they find out about us, I... I’m scared of what will happen if we get nuked, I’m scared of gravity suddenly deciding to stop, I’m just afraid of things. I know it’s stupid, I know it’s irrational but it just... scares me,” he explained. “I’m afraid that if you leave, you never come back because you get hurt. It sounds stupid,” He babbled quickly before exhaling deeply, despite not needing to.

“I’m proud of you,” he admitted after a pause. “It’s hard to find a job, right? It’ll be... good for you. You’ll be able to meet the townsfolk. You’ll be social and it’ll be fun, right?” He confirmed, looking up with a sniffle.
 
"That's the idea, yeah. The money's probably shit but if they get to like me, I'm charming enough to push for a pay rise," he grinned as he finally found a spot he deemed comfortable enough to settle in, though did hold his legs to his chest to stay as small as he could. He saw this as Leo's space, after all, and he hardly wanted to encroach on that if he could help it.

"If I did get hurt outside the house and say I did die... shit happens, Leo. You can't worry about it. If it happens, it'd suck but I don't think it's that likely. If it worries you that much, I'll tell Gigi to drag my body in the house before I perish, yeah? I'll have her under strict instructions to do that, I'll make her promise. She likes me, I'm sure she'd do that for me if I asked sweetly."
 
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"If I don't worry about it, who will?" He countered quickly, hoping it would register a joke. In reality, Nyle wasn't going to just change his mind nor his anxiety. "I just like things to be as uneventful as a ghost dating a human can be, you know? Like, the world is scary and I just like to be able to snuggle up to you and relax. I know you're not the type to just spend the day quietly watching television but I just - I don't want something to happen to you. The first time - that was my fault and look what happened? I don't want that to ever happen again, especially if I can't do anything about it. You said you didn't want to die and I'm going to make sure that you don't." he explained before shooting a smile.

"I guess that sounds a bit possessive, huh? Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable if it did. You just mean a lot to me, you know?" He murmured as he typed away. "I want to treat you and make you feel good for dating me."
 
"I don't need to be rewarded for dating you-- you shouldn't be fucking grateful to me, that's... you're so insecure, Leo. Don't you realise you're kinda a catch? You're cute, you're funny, you have a buttload of money..." He snorted, hoping himself that his own attempt at a joke (regarding the latter of the three statements) would land well enough to break the tension a little. He did feel bad enough for disappearing all night and then returning to bicker non-stop with his boyfriend, so if he had to laugh at his concerns and paper over the cracks, so be it.

"...Look, maybe I'll change my mind one day? Maybe I'll wake up when I'm 40 and ask you to poison me or somethin', I dunno. I just don't want to do that yet," he admitted quietly as he held his knees to his chest.
 
A faint blush grew to his cheeks as he stopped typing, his hands resting on his knees as he silently listened. Eventually, he scooted closer to the other and offered a smile before taking his hand in his own.

“I don’t mind when you decide, Nyle. I mean, it’ll be strange to date an old man but... I want you happy. I know it was selfish to assume you would want to do something stupid like that, I... understand. I mean, it’s good enough that you’re willing to stay with me, no matter what age. I love you, you know?” He reminded with a small smile, all the while bashfully avoiding his eyes. “I know you don’t believe me when I say this, but I do wish I could go out with you. I would love a nice stroll in the woods.”
 
"You're right, I don't believe you. For the record, it does suck we can't do that, but... hey, it isn't the end of the world. We've had a relatively solid relationship so far, I think it'll be fine. I can head out and do stuff, and just come home to you. You're like a cute housewife," he replied with a deliberately playful wink. He'd rather Leo be able to head outside and be independent in that way, but that wasn't ever going to be possible, so droning on about how much he hated it wasn't worthwhile.

"I won't be an old man, god. Just... I dunno. 40's not old. I don't want you to date me if I'm super old, Leo. It'd be too weird," he agreed with a faint grimace at the sudden realisation Leo wasn't going to age. "Mm... I'll think about it, alright? If I do decide I want to... kill myself, I want it to be my decision. I don't need you telling me the best way to do it, 'kay?"
 
“Do you think I’d look cute in an apron? I mean, I did try to make that pizza for you... I put it in the fridge, by the way,” he replied before daring to lean against the other. He was desperate for affection, especially when he had been abandoned by the other.

“You but the food and I can try to cook it? I mean, we can do that Blue Apron thing or whatever, yeah? It’s easier, they send the food to us without having to go out to buy it,” he suggested with raised brows. “That is, if you want to. That means you’ll have to be here at night, though.”
 
"I can head out to get groceries, Leo. I'm not going to die doing that. God, imagine getting run over by a trolley? I'd be mortified if I died like that," he snorted, his eyes rolling to himself. If he had a choice, he wanted to die some fabulous death but he already knew that, with his shit luck, he'd end up dying in some embarrassing situation that he'd be haunted by for eternity.

"Look, Gigi goes grocery shopping once a week by herself-- I might accompany her, make a social thing of it. You can't eat, so it's not like I'd be shopping for a whole bunch of food, Leo. I can manage grocery shopping," he promised, leaning to reciprocate the affection with a quick kiss. "Chill out, babe."
 
“I am 100% chill,” he quickly defended, shaking his head a tad. “If I’m gonna be honest, Nyle, I don’t think I trust you buying food? I feel like you’d buy a ton of unnecessary additions that you won’t eat,” he admitted, though with a smile as he closed his eyes.

“Secondly, I can eat... there’s just no reason to,” he insisted. “I don’t really taste anything, sure, but I can eat. I mean, I still like wine even though I can’t taste it or get drunk from it. I think I miss getting drunk more than I should,” he teased with a snort.
 
"You don't trust me buying food? Hey, if I want to buy ten boxes of cookies and eat them all in one night, that's up to me-- I can write a list and get you to approve it, if that helps. I'll buy vegetables and all that grown up shit," he promised with a faint roll of his eyes, smiling all the while. He didn't particularly mind Leo's intervention - he probably needed some guidance when it came to that sort of thing.

"Shall we just watch TV and chill out today? I need a shower and I'll get into my PJs and we can relax. Gigi might knock later to check on me, but that won't be for a while."