House Guest

"[THREAD TITLE]" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
[Write a summary of the thread's events here, including spoilers and important plot details. Check the Order of Threads to see if the thread you are placing already has a summary, to make less work for yourself.]
==Full Text==
Blunt trudged up to Clover’s front door, and heaved a sigh. “Oh man, Eights…” he murmured sadly. “I can’t help but feel as though you left too soon…I’m gonna do what I can pal…okay?”
Squaring his shoulders, he knocked on the door. At first, there was no response at all. 
Then, slowly, one of the curtains was pulled back and a pair of eyes–one milky white, and one a vibrant green–peer over the windowsill. They disappeared just a moment later, but the sound of soft voices drifted towards the door.
A set of footsteps approached the door. “I’m not seeing visitors,” Clover said, not pulling it open.
“That’s fine, I’m a home invader, now open up,” Blunt said, gently placing both of his hands on the flat of the door.
“Go away, Blunt,” came the dull reply. Clover’s words were almost entirely monotone, nothing at all like her usual speech.
The curtain twitches again as Melira looks out the window. “He’s not going away,” she reports.
“I mean it, Blunt.”
Blunt exhaled. “Look…I’m not leaving this doorstep. You can’t stay locked away kiddo…your kids can't stay locked away…let me in…or come on out…”
“Go. Away,” Clover snarls. Her voice wavers, as if she’s holding back tears.
Blunt checks the door to see if it's locked. “I’m coming in,” he said.
“No, you’re not,” she shoots back. The door is locked, but she double-checks anyway. After a moment’s thought, she steps away from the door to drag a chair over and block it that way, too.
Blunt was quiet, and then he folded his arms. “I’m gonna jump through your window, Clover. ” He said, as plainly and as truthfully as a man ordering lunch.
Melira’s eyes widen from her spot behind the curtain, and she shoots a glance over at Clover, still in the process of dragging the heaviest chair in the house towards the door.
To her, it’s kind of funny to watch her mother fight with the chair. Less funny is Clover’s answering snarl at Blunt. Glancing again at him, Melira scurries away from the window. 
Blunt wrapped his thick fur cape around his face for protection. “Last chance to open the door Clover.”
“No.” And with that, Clover finishes dragging the chair into place.
There was a moment of silence…
And then Blunt’s hulking form sailed through the window with a crash, his body rolling and tumbling into the far wall. All at once, movement explodes across the room. Melira scrambles for the corner, where William is standing with wide eyes, unsure what to make of this unusual situation. Clover, on the other hand, hisses: not the sound of a human imitating a hiss, but the sound of a wounded animal. She looks, quite frankly, horrible, with her hair in disarray and her clothes a mess. The children, at least, look well-cared for, if a little shell-shocked.
Blunt shook off the cape as he staggered to his feet. “Right…” he breathed. He swallowed, thinking for a minute, and then slowly began to walk over to her. “Oh Clover…” he breathed.
“Leave me alone!” she shrieks, backing away until she collides with a wall. Tears slip down her cheeks, and she furiously brushes them away.
In the corner, Melira sits down and pulls William into her lap.
Blunt hesitated, and then strode over to her smoothly and got down so he could look her in the eye. “Baby doll…” he said gently, and then held out a hand. “Come on…”
A part of Clover wants to scratch him the way she did years ago, but the larger part… well, the larger part wins out, and she bursts into tears, collapsing straight into Blunt. “He’s gone,” she sobs.
Blunt gathered her up like a bundle of laundry and held her close. “Shhh…I know, baby girl. I’m sorry…” he kissed the side of her head, and then turned to Melira and motioned with his head. “Come on kiddo…let’s go.”
Clover in arms, he walked towards the door. “I’m adopting you all for a bit.”
Melira blinks up at Blunt before nodding slowly. She nudges William off her lap, then tugs him to his feet. Confused, he willingly goes along with what his sister wants.
Clover just turns and cries into Blunt’s shoulder.
Blunt ended up tucking Clover, William, and Melira into the large bed in the upstairs loft. He had gotten them each something to eat and drink, and then went back out to take care of the window he had broken.
After boarding the frame up and stuffing three large bags with each of their respective possessions, he returned. He was worn out, sad for his friends, and hoping he had made the right call. Not to mention his hope that he had gotten the right supplies. 
He crashed on the spare mattress and awoke early the next morning to make the family breakfast. As he entered the kitchen though, his feet skittered in surprise. “Stonegit…” He said.
His boyfriend was standing at the bar counter, his face resting and serious as he casually mixed some hotcake powder in a bowl. “Hey…” He said, and Blunt cautiously took a stool.
“Hi…” He greeted in turn. “I uh…” Blunt motioned back towards the loft. “I, uh, figured I should have told you I was…”
“It’s fine.” Stonegit dusting off his hands as he set the bowl down. He noticed Blunt’s face flinch ever so slightly and he paused, deliberately softening his tone. “As in…it really is…fine. This needed to happen.” The two sat in an awkward silence  and Stonegit slowly inhaled. “Well um…I started breakfast for you all and…wanted to say hello but uh…”
“Work?” Blunt asked and for a moment Stonegit gave him a stern look before he realized Blunt was being sincere. 
The boy blinked a few times. “Yeah…”
The two men carefully walked over to one another, Stonegit not making eye contact. Blunt lifted a hand cautiously and then lowered it. After another pause, he tried again and leaned down. Stonegit allowed his lips to come up and touch the corner of the taller man’s mouth before he back away smoothly. “If Clover’s feeling well enough…I’ll be back tonight just…just send a note.”
“Sure…” Blunt sighed, and then added in a quiet voice. “Bye baby.”
Stonegit kept backing up towards the door, still not looking at him, but he brought two fingers to his lips, kissed them once, and then motioned to hand back towards Blunt. “Bye…”
The door clicked shut, and Blunt exhaled, scooping up the hotcake mix. 
***
Melira wriggles her way out of bed, leaving her mother curled protectively around William. She looks around the loft before peering over the edge of it, looking down into the room below.
She looks between Blunt down below, then back at Clover and William, unsure what to do.
Blunt glanced up at her from the kitchen. “Hey there girly…” He said gently. “Come on down. Food’s on the way.”
After one last look at the bed, Melira heads down from the loft. She scrambles up onto one of the barstools, looking over at Blunt once she steadies herself. 
“Hi,” she says quietly.
“Want some hotcakes, sweetheart?” Blunt asked as he pulled a grill pan over the kitchen fire. “I’ve asked a lot of people that before but you are definitely the cutest by far.” He turned away and muttered under his breath. “Not to mention the only one under-aged.”  
Melira perks up at the mention of food. “Yeah,” she whispers. She runs a finger across the bartop. “How long can we stay?” she asks.
“As long as you need to.” Blunt answers. “We love the company and you guys could use some friends close by.”
Having others around to moderate Stonegit’s and I’s time and interactions together won’t hurt either.
He poured the batter onto the grill. “There we go…this shouldn’t take too long.”
Melira looks over her shoulder at the loft. “I think Mama needs it,” she agrees. Staring down at the bartop, she whispers a question: “Is Papa really gone?”
Blunt pressed his lips together with his back turned towards her. 
Eights…I sure hope what you decided to rush into means something in the end…for what you’ve done to these kids…
He turned around and pulled up a stool in front of her to sit down, and gently reached out a hand to touch her arm. “I’m sorry kiddo…But he is, he gave his life fighting for all of us. But I wish he were here…”
“I miss him,” Melira says quietly, her good eye glittering with unshed tears. She tugs on her hair. “I don’t know if Will gets it yet.”
“He may not…” Blunt agreed, letting himself lean forward so he could look at her eye level as they talked. “But with a big sister like you…he’ll be okay. Just be honest with him…but kind, always kind.” He brushed at a bit of her hair and then swiveled around to flip the cakes. “Just about done…”
“Okay,” she says. While watching Blunt, she tilts her head. “Can we see Stonegit soon?”
“Oh uh…he…” Blunt bobbed his head a few times as he thought of the right words. “Maybe…He’s a pretty busy guy. Let’s see how your mom feels first okay?”
“She said she doesn’t wanna see anyone,” Melira says slowly. 
“I figured…” Blunt said carefully, putting a few hotcakes on a plate and walking to the pantry to find some butter. “But your mom needs to be around people right now…so we’ll be here for her.”
“Okay,” Melira agrees readily. 
Blunt licked his lips as he gave Milera the plate of food. “Lemme go up there are see if she wants some breakfast.”
He slid past her and carefully climbed up the narrow loft stairs, and knelt beside the bed. “Hey doll face…wake up. It’s Blunt, I made ya some food.”
Clover opens one eye, takes a look at Blunt, then closes her eye again and pulled her son closer. “Go away,” she mumbled.
“It’s pancakes…” Blunt offered again.
At the word ‘pancakes’, William starts wiggling towards Blunt, and Clover reluctantly lets him go.
“I’m not hungry,” she says.
“You need food, and they’re hot.” Blunt told her as he picked William up under the armpits. “Come on, come be with us and let’s eat.”
Tears well up in Clover’s eyes. “Just leave me alone. Please,” she adds, her voice cracking on the word.
William frowns, looking between his mother and Blunt–it’s clear he’s torn between trying to comfort his mother, and wanting to put food in his mouth.
Blunt drew a careful breath and then stood. “I’ll bring you a plate.”
He took William down stairs and served him up some of the pancakes. Afterwards he prepared a plate for Clover and set it by her side. He sat down with his own plate.
Clover glances at the plate, then looks back at the far wall. She otherwise remains motionless. “What do you want?” she whispers.
“I don't want anything.” Blunt told her. “I’m just taking care of my friend.”
Clover moves enough to give Blunt a skeptical look, but says nothing. 
“Come on.” He moved the plate closer to her. “Let’s have some breakfast together. You need it.”
“I’m not hungry,” she says. In truth, she hasn’t felt hungry in days, and only ate enough to convince William to eat his own food. With him downstairs with Melira, that’s not much of an issue.
“Maybe so…” Blunt relented. “But you still need food…I can tell. Just a bit? I made these myself l.”
Clover looks at him, and recognizes that he’ll just keep pestering her until she agrees. “Fine,” she mutters. She sits up, leaving the blankets tangled around her legs. With a sigh, she pulls the plate onto her lap. Clover picks up the fork, and her stomach seems to turn over. Reluctantly, she takes a small bite, and hopes she doesn’t look as green as she’s feeling.
Blunt gently puts a hand on her shoulder. “They’re plain.” He explained. “Easy on the stomach. I have some fruit as well.”
Category:EU
Category:Events
Category:Blunt Donz
Category:Clover Rose
Category:Melira Verdile
Category:William Verdile