Work Text:
༚༅༚˳. ♱ .˳༚༅༚
After a year of bouncing from motel to hotel, to the streets until they could afford somewhere more permanent to stay, Naim and Ryan learnt a lot.
They learnt that eating 2 minute noodles for every meal wasn't nutritional in the slightest. That staying up all night and sleeping all day actually did cause issues. That everything in the city is fucking expensive. And, they learnt just how bad the entities were at tricking at them.
Wether they we're always this bad, or somehow had weakened over time, they didn't know. Either way, they we're grateful for the development.
Right now, Naim's sitting on the small couch they managed to squeeze into the studio apartment they moved into a little over a month ago. Ryan was at work, and he would be for at least another hour.
It was weird at the start, finding jobs and growing used to having conflicting schedules. They had gone from having to hide from each other in public, to needing to be stuck together at every conjoining point just so they could be safe, and now they don't need to do either.
The alone time was nice though. Naim got to sketch out ideas, things he could make for Ryan because they still weren't making enough money to buy gifts for each other.
Heaven knows what Ryan did with his alone time. Every time Naim came back home, Ryan would run up and tackle him like an overexcited puppy.
It wasn't the whole, being alone thing, that was hard. It was the fact that they never were completely alone. The entities were easier to deal with sure, easier to know when it wasn't the other, but that didn't stop them from appearing at all.
Naim's mindlessly scratching his pen onto paper, nothing of note coming out onto the page. The TV is playing something mindless, he thinks it might be one of those housewives shows, but he isn't entirely sure.
And theres scratching at the door.
A hand pawing against the wood, alternating between knocking and taking it's nails down the indents. Sometimes it even jiggles the doorknob.
Naim just sighs and rolls his eyes at the sound. He could put in his earbuds, but he had been wearing them so much his ears were starting to hurt.
A month ago, Naim would have ran to hide under the covers, shaking while he dialled Ryan's numbers. So many times he had called Ryan while he was at work, needing to hear his voice to remind himself the Ryan outside isn't real.
"Naim, let me in" A voice closely resembling his boyfriends cries from the other side of the door.
"I'm coming" Naim yells out, making no move to get up.
Now, Naim's grown calmer with it all. It still makes his heart rate spike, and he can't help the fact his breathing becomes a little uneven. But he knows he will be okay, as long as he doesn't open the door.
The ladies on the TV are starting to scream at each other, and Naim gets engrossed in the fight playing out in front of him.
He has no clue how much time passes before the doorknob starts to jiggle again, more violently this time. He knows from experience, that the entity, could and would break down any door in it's way. But it had been so long since that had happen, he really had no clue how far it might go.
It got angry, it got desperate. But Naim knew well enough that it wasn't real, so it didnt hold much power over him anymore. Maybe that's why it never bothered with breaking down the door.
"I said I'm coming!" Naim calls out again, this time swinging his legs off the couch and standing up.
The sounds stop as soon as his feet the ground. Naim places his sketchbook down on the couch and pads over to the little kitchenette to pour himself a glass of water.
Maybe it was mean to tease. But the thing has tried killing Naim on numerous occasions, so he thinks it just levels it out.
"Naim" It whines again.
Sometimes it was hard to keep ignoring it. It did have Ryan's voice after all. It was so good at mimicking the wobble that happened whenever Ryan was overwhelmed with emotions.
Naim sighs, placing his glass down in the sink and spinning around on his heels.
He freezes once he turns around, looking through the glass sliding door to the tiny balcony their apartment came with.
It's standing there, hand up on the glass.
"What are you—" Naim looks to the door that he swore it was behind just a moment before.
"Let me in" It pulls at the handle, trying to force the door to slide open.
Naim shakes his head. Against his better judgement, he walks closer to the door.
"Come on Naim" It pouts, tipping it's head down the same way Ryan does.
Naim can't help chuckle, laughter bubbling up inside of him. "Might wanna fix your eye" He whispers.
Only it's left pupil was dilated. The difference between it's eyes was dramatic, only one pupil swallowing up all of the blue that Naim loved to stare into.
It's eyes widen a fraction, and then it brings it's hand up to slap over it's left eye.
"Wow" Naim bites down on a smile. "Good as new"
The entity doesn't look thrown off in the slightest, just keeps trying to force the door open and convince Naim to let it in.
Naim entertains it for the time being, knowing that his Ryan will be home in a matter of minutes.
"I just don't know how to unlock it" Naim sighs dramatically, flopping his hand over the handle and letting it fall off.
"Naim, please" It tries to plead, lowering it's brow and forcing tears.
Naim just shrugs, raising his hands in a defence position. It was getting harder to feign indifference. Unfortunately, it was still really good and mimicking Ryan's tears. Naim didn't see Ryan cry often, but it was an unforgettable sight.
Then he hears keys in the door, and the squeak of the door being opened.
"Fuck me" Ryan—The real Ryan—groans as he closes the door behind him.
Naim's shoulders loosen off, jumping forward and looping his arms around Ryan's shoulders before he even has the chance to shuck his Hi-vis off.
"Woah—" Ryan loses balance, hands finding their place on Naim's waist.
Naim doesn't budge, just holds on tighter until Ryan balances them both. Ryan's hands are warm through his shirt, and the smell of oil and grease is overwhelming when he shoves his face into Ryan's neck.
"You didn't check if it was me" Ryan pulls back, forcing Naim to look him in the eyes.
"I knew it was" Naim huffs out, hands gliding up and down Ryan's arms.
A flash of conflicting emotions show through Ryan's features, before he breathes out and pulls Naim back in.
"You still have to check babe, can't have you getting hurt" Ryan kisses Naim's temple.
Naim melts into the embrace, nodding as best he can.
The TV is still playing, the fight that was airing long over. Naim doesn't look back to the balcony, he doesn't want to see if there's a lingering mark of the entities hand being held against the glass.
He just keeps his eyes on Ryan. His Ryan. He's all Naim ever needs to see.