Chapter Text
It was a sunny day! Well. A bit too sunny, but that's beside the point.
Booker was taking a walk, apparently, it'd already been 2 days since she'd been outside- at least from what Paul had said. And Jim. And Thomas. Even Ivan betrayed him! So, of course, now it was time. Ah, yes, kicked out of the house by your best friends! (Lovingly, of course.) What a wonderful way to spend the day.
However, what absolutely no one would have expected was that this walk was so exciting!! So much happened, and Booker couldn't wait to get home and tell (show) the others! >•<
...Wait! THEY'RE WALKING THE WRONG WAY- TURN AROUND!
And she begins the jog back home, prize in hand.
☆○☆
It's calm and peaceful in the house. At least for the time being.
Paul and Thomas are playing Rummy under the watchful eye of Jim, who isn't exactly the best with cards. Anytime he didn't understand? ‘You two are just old…’ was his best excuse. So he saved himself the embarrassment this time around.
He also didn't want to deal with losing to Thomas again.
Thomas was insane with cards. No matter what game, winning against him in any card game is practically impossible. And now, he and Paul, 435 points compared to 50... Ouch. We know who isn't winning today.
"How do you even get so far behind..." It was honestly impressive how badly Paul was failing. Jim suppressed (terribly) the urge to laugh.
This daze led Paul to mess up his discard. Thomas claimed it with a grin.
"He- Did you not watch him go out after 2 moves last hand?! How was I supposed to top that..." Jim almost felt bad, but hey. He's not the one who chose to play against Thomas.
"I don't know, but you should've been able to!" A grumble comes from the other end of the table, and the game continues.
Paul loses in the next hand.
Good times, good times.
…
But not for Ivan, who was working on a puzzle in the corner of the living room.
Because WHY do all of these pieces look the same?!
They were surprised to have gotten this far in the puzzle, edges finished, and about a quarter of the middle added in. But now? All the colors were the same! This wasn't right at all!
Puzzles are supposed to be relaxing, that's how they're branded! Not insanity inducing NIGHTMARES!
Ivan groans, stupid puzzle pieces… Stupid cardboard chunks of rage and anguish-
Well, carrying on, there wasn't any more time to worry about that silly puzzle. Or Paul's absolutely embarrassing (hilarious, in the eyes of Jim) Rummy loss- because BOOM! The door was open-
Oh.
The door is broken.
The door is lying on the floor.
And Booker is not alone when they walk through the doorway.
What was anyone expecting, truly?
Booker rushes in, dragging his poor victim in alongside him.
"I'm back!! >:D" She looks like a muffin. A very determined muffin.
"We can see that-" Ivan just stares. From the doorway, to the floor, to the random person Booker just brought to the house. "So, the door breaking is in fact a normal occurrence-?" The question was obviously directed at Paul, as Ivan decided to completely ignore the elephant, technically a person, in the room.
"Well- yes- but there's a more important thing going on now-"
Booker doesn't give anyone time to finish. They're taking too long anyway!!
"I MET SOMEONE NEW!" The said person, now fully realizing their position, waves. Their stance is a mixture of awkward, tired, and completely and utterly confused as they were held out like a prize.
There was a pause before they spoke, quiet and hesitant.
"Hello everyone...?"
…
(・-・;)
…
Paul chuckles awkwardly after the continued pause, before stepping forward, pulling a vibrating Booker away from the new guest. If they got any more excited, they would probably explode.
"Hi! Welcome in, I'm Paul." He motions for the other to step in further after Booker has been situated off to the side, and they seem to get even more nervous after seeing even more people in the house. Staring. Paul seems to notice something… The look in their eyes… Oh
"Ah. I'm going to assume Booker didn't say anything about roommates."
"No, nothing..." They rub their arms, staring at the carpet. It was very interesting indeed. Mhmm. Very nice carpet. Nice shade of- nevermind that.
A new conversation begins as this revelation dawns over the older. "...Did you even introduce yourself?" Booker paused, staring at her hands for a moment, attempting to find a memory. To remember... Did she??
"Maybe? I don't know- Probably not.”
A pause, then they're right back- full energy- wow, this is a lot to take in. “Well! I'm Booker! And these are my other friends! Ivan and Jim are those two, and Paul has already introduced himself; he's the best! And... Uhm... And Thomas is here somewhere!" The two who had until now been observing each gave a wave. Thomas had decided to disappear at a bad time, though. He'd be back soon.
Knowing him, the man was probably making tea.
"Well, nice meeting you all- I'm Broken Spawn." Spawn shuffles around, still not used to such a large crowd at once. But there was a larger matter poking at them as well, something a bit more obvious, yet ignored this whole time.
"...Should we do something about the door-?" They stepped away from it, noticing the ripped wood where the hinges were. It felt weird standing next to a door that *wasn't* on those hinges still.
Booker suddenly goes red, embarrassed about the broken door. The bout of excitement that caused this all seemed to be wearing off slightly.
"Uh- it's not the first time that's happened-" Their voice got quieter the more they spoke; it felt weird to admit that out loud. To someone she just met.
"This is actually the third time!" Jim pops in with a laugh and that stupid smirk- Booker just glares at him from across the room, sticking his tongue out at the other.
"Oh damn, what was time three? I only know two.” Ivan popped up from his stop on the ground, and holy crap, Spawn forgot that someone was sitting there-
"Thomas, have we not mentioned that before??”
Ivan shrinks back down, scratching the side of his face a bit. Definitely regretting that question. “...That makes sense. Yeah, I feel stupid for asking now-”
Now it felt like Spawn was invading a conversation- standing near the doorway and twiddling their thumbs. Thankfully, however, that wasn't for long, because there was a tap on their shoulder a moment later-
Okay, what was up with this group and jumpscaring them?! They were going to have a genuine heart attack if this happened again. They stumbled back, being caught by the man who had finally made himself known.
But at least Spawn knows who Thomas is now, as he leads the younger to the table sitting in the main room. The others follow one by one (or two by two, technically.) Everyone grabs a chair, forming a circle around the small table in the middle of the room.
Sitting on it is a whole ceramic teacup set. And of course, a teapot. They looked well-loved, which made Spawn smile with a comfortable nostalgia. ~(it had been a while since they had felt this.)~ Even better, whatever Thomas had brewed smelled nice. They wondered how it tasted. Well, as everyone had been poured some, it became clear they didn't need to wait long.
Wow. Spawn forgot how good tea tasted. “This, this is nice-” They didn't know what else to say, but they just hoped it was enough. Words were never the easiest thing to come across, after all.
“I think he does this for everyone,” Ivan mentioned as he sipped. Still staring. They'd need to get used to this, huh?
“Oh yeah!! That's why one of the cabinets is kinda left alone. It's reserved for the tea-stuff!” Booker gestures to the kitchen, which is surprisingly spacious. Unlike the other houses in this area.
Thomas nods along, making Spawn wonder if the man can speak at all. But that's a question for a later day, since they find themselves comfortable in the current situation. They didn't want to ruin it with a badly timed question.
Paul and Booker were chatting away about bugs, jokes passed around by all, and the tea being so flipping good-
The company was nice; this warmth, like a fuzz in their heart, was a welcome change.