Work Text:
Ray had always assumed that if he encountered anything supernatural, he'd be too scared to run, let alone sleep. But that didn't account for how exhausting a late-night encounter could be. One moment, he was collapsing into his bed, half asleep before he hit the pillow; and the next, the boy was being assaulted by light in his eyes. “Dammit.” The guitarist mumbled under his breath, voice thick with sleep. He buried his face back into the pillow. It was just so soft, so inviting. It'd be so easy just to fall back asleep. But, right as his brain started to drift back off, he suddenly snapped awake due to a simple realization.
Shit, there was an alien in his house.
In an instant, everything came flooding back, cutting through the hazy fog of sleep. Now very much awake, Ray stumbled out of bed, almost tripping over himself as he staggered down the hallway. As the boy approached the guest room,
part of him worried for his visitor. What if their wounds were deeper than he thought and they were seriously hurt? The quietness of the room didn't help matters. But, right as he lifted a fist up to knock, Ray could hear light snuffling from the other side. “They're just asleep.” The boy let out a sigh of relief, fist lowering back down to his side. “Thank god.”
Noiselessly, the guitarist retreated backwards, not wanting to disturb the alien. At least to him, if he crashed landed onto a new planet, he wouldn't want to be woken up. Silently, Ray padded down the stairs, marveling at the soft light pouring in from his windows. Everything looked so peaceful, as if the world had forgotten the events of the previous night. The tall boy rubbed at his eyes, forcing them to focus on the digital clock on the microwave. “Goddamn,” he mused, “nine already?” To be fair, special circumstances definitely overruled societal needs to be up early, especially considering this was his one day off this week. Though, the brunette was awake now, so it was probably best to do something at least semi-normal and productive. He most likely wouldn't have the chance after his new houseguest woke up.
Ray might not have been the best cook, but he wasn't completely incompetent when it came to taking care of himself. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the kitchen was full of the scent of food. It was just him, so the meal wasn't anything special, just a few eggs that made the guitarist realize he needed to go to the store soon. “Do I have time for that today?” The boy's internal monologue questioned while he flipped the eggs onto a plate. “Can I leave them alone here?” His string of consciousness was cut off when he heard rattling upstairs, presumably Gee. It didn't sound like the door was opening, more like a dog trying to paw at the knob. But, after a few more tries, Ray could hear the click of the latch, and footsteps coming down the stairs.
The soft thuds of the steps trailed down the stairs, each landing with a heaviness that expressed their exhaustion. Slowly, the alien moved into view, reflecting that tiredness in every way. At some point in the night, Gee had abandoned their blazer and tie, leaving them in a wrinkled dress shirt, slacks, and pink socks. Their fiery red hair stuck up in every direction imaginable, their antennae drooped down and nestled in the locks. Lazily rubbing at their eyes, the shorter one looked up at the human, like they wanted to say something. Silently, their mouth opened and closed several times, working to piece something comprehensible together. “Ray?” They finally spoke, saying it almost as a question. The guitarist's eyes widened a bit, shocked that the alien remembered it. “Yeah,” he nodded, “Ray.”
Gee took a moment to look around the kitchen, having not seen it the night before. As their eyes landed on the boy's food, their antennae perked up, now very interested in his meal. Without any warning, the alien strided over to the table, shoving their face maybe three inches from the plate. They jabbed a finger even closer, glancing up at Ray for an explanation. The brunette had to hold back his laughter at the creature's innocent curiosity. They were just so blunt with their questioning, it was hard not to be endeared. “Eggs.” He gestured down to the plate, “It's food.” The taller boy explained, keeping the description short to avoid any possible confusion.
“Egg.” The ginger parroted back, testing how the word felt on their tongue. Then they poked at the egg, simply wanting to learn more about it. Ray bit back a shudder, not wanting to think about where their hands had been. He knew that Gee was simply trying to understand the new thing more, but an extraterrestrial crash didn't sound very clean. “Did you want some?” The boy asked, voice slightly strained as he cut off the chunk of egg they'd played with his fork, then offering it to the alien. The shorter one took it, holding the fork in their fist, staring at it for a moment before stuffing the egg into their mouth. Immediately, their face cycled through several expressions as they shook their head adamantly. The fork dropped onto the table with a soft clatter.
“Ok then, no eggs. Noted.” The guitarist commented, more amused by the reaction than anything else. He took the fork back, setting back on the plate. Even with how poor the taste-test had gone, it had proven that Gee needed to eat actual food; it'd been helpful in a sense. “You can look around the kitchen.” Ray prompted, motioning around to the cabinets. The alien put two and two together and began to wander around the room, opening every drawer and cabinet they could reach. There was just so much to look at, each brightly colored package piquing the ginger's interest. The egg had been bad, sure, but it was quickly forgotten in the light of the sheer amount of new Gee was looking at.
The first thing they landed on was a blue cardboard box. The shorter one held it up to the guitarist, unsure if it was edible. “Food?” They asked, head tilted slightly. Ray smirked at the question, but responded, “Yeah, food. Crackers.” He specified. With confirmation, the pale one carefully opened the box. While doing so, they quietly muttered, “cracker, cracker, cracker” under their breath, fascinated by every new word. One the sleeve was removed, Gee held up a singular cracker. It was tan and square, harmless. Wanting to ensure they tried it all, they shoved the entire thing in their mouth at once. Even though it took a while, they eventually chewed and swallowed it.
The taller boy bit down on his lip, trying not to completely break down over the other's legitimately alien way of eating. “So,” he began, “how'd it taste?” Gee didn't immediately look up, rather just sitting there, antennae bent slightly in confusion. When they did, they also responded to the question. “It. It no. It no taste.” They mumbled, stumbling their way through an answer. “Yeah. You're not really wrong about that.” The guitarist shrugged, they were crackers after all. “Try again?” Ray pointed to another cabinet, wanting to be sure they ate at least something. The alien followed the boy's finger, tucking the box of crackers away before opening the new door and rummaging through it.
Eventually, the pale one landed on one item in particular, it stealing all their attention. It was a plastic jar, roughly three-quarters full of jelly beans. The bright colors were instantly captivating to Gee, who very quickly made their decision about breakfast. “Food?” They asked again, eyes widened by excitement and hope. Ray nodded, “Yeah, those are food. Jelly beans.” The choice may have been a bit strange, but it was food at the end of the day. Without waiting any longer, the ginger fumbled the lid open, reached into the jar, selected a pink bean and popped it into their mouth. Immediately, their eyes lit up, astonished. To them, it was perfect: sweet, soft, and chewy in a way that made their brain scream in approval. Promptly, Gee began to cram more and more of the beans into their mouth, like they were worried Ray might try to steal some.
The brunette watched, jaw slack in shock. “Of course.” The boy sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “The alien's a damn sugar fiend. Why didn't I think of that? It's obvious.” Slowly, the guitarist's hand shifted, one running through his curled locks. “Maybe it isn't an issue.” He thought, “Maybe it's just a weird alien biology thing.” This logic convinced him for the time being, so he didn't stop the ginger.
Though, when he looked up from the table and saw Gee with their cheeks completely full, empty jar in their hands, part of Ray regretted not intervening. The short one perked up, realized they were actively being watched. “Jelly beans. Good.” They concluded with a smile, saying it as if that was a profound realization. But, it was hard to stay upset, they were genuinely enthusiastic about something as simple as jelly beans. It was damn infectious, the brunette's smile instinctively widening as a result. “Yeah, good.” He agreed, echoing the sentiment.
Once the ginger managed to swallow all the beans, they shuffled over to the other's chair, jar still firmly in their hands. The alien pointed to the plate of eggs, currently sitting abandoned. “You. Food.” The short one stated, trying to get the boy to eat. “I see them, yeah.” Ray sighed, though not upset. He turned back to the meal, starting to eat again. Once Gee was confident that he was eating, they settled onto the floor, intently watching to make sure their host ate.