Chapter Text
Jay sighed as they felt his chapped hands slide up their chest, pulling them back to him.
"Hello," he murmured into their neck.
"I hate these dreams," they mumbled.
"Why?" Asked Phineas.
Jay sighed harder and turned around where they lay to face him. "Because the hole in my chest always feels twice as deep when I wake up again."
"......Sorry," he murmured, looking apologetic.
Jay shook their head. "'S my brain's fault…" they muttered.
He chuckled quietly at that. "...It just wants you to feel better," he murmured.
"Pretty cruel way of doing it," Jay mumbled. They concentrated and they could almost smell him, the odd, musty odor oddly comforting to remember.
Phineas was silent as he held them, his hands absently clutching at their shoulders in an awkward massage. "Remember when Bubbles passed on?" He eventually mumbled.
"God, you were inconsolable for weeks. You spoke so little, some people thought you'd taken a vow of silence."
He chuckled softly. "Of course those simpletons did," he murmured.
"You may as well have. I think I was the only person you spoke even just a full sentence to for about a month."
Phineas was quiet for a minute. "You were the one person who understood," he eventually murmured.
"I swear you about shot me when I first tripped on her," said Jay.
"I… was worried you'd attack her," he mumbled.
"Why didn't you have her with you?" Jay asked, knowing he'd told them years ago.
"I didn't mean to. You arrived sooner than I envisioned, it was very last minute that I sealed myself up. And then she refused to come in when I tried later. It was very frustrating."
Jay giggled, settling into his arms more. "It sounds like it was."
"You helped me move on," he mumbled. "You kept me from… "drowning in my sorrow" as it were. Talking to me, giving me distractions."
"...Your point?" Jay mumbled.
"You're doing it to yourself. You need to get out more," he quietly insisted.
"That's rich, coming from you," Jay mumbled.
"Which means even you know it, deep down," he added with a chuckle.
Jay sighed in frustration. "I always hated when you were right," they mumbled.
"You're brighter than you think," he teased in reply.
"Shut up," muttered Jay.
He chuckled again, absently running his hands over their back. "You've done well, Jay. You've done well."