Closed Not Talking About It

[Vader Hume]

Vader had been on some rocky ground with his boyfriend for a couple of months, between the working hard for his job, Ava's twins and then seemingly Padme leaving without too much of a word as to where she went. It had been pretty stressful to begin with made worse by the fact that because he was stressed he wasn't sleeping. He was then in his old cycle of not sleeping, of stressing out, of being awake for far too long and then passing out. It was neither healthy or good, but he couldn't even stop it, because he wasn't really able to deal with the stress yet. He couldn't understand where Padme had gone and why she hadn't written once. Vader's low sleep had made things with Goku hard because he knew it was difficult to be around him, and this was unhelped by even before this had happened they had been having issues.

But Vader had stormed out of Goku's place at the crack of dawn when the man's comment had touched a nerve too deep, one Ava had always managed to quieten, that he was too much for someone. THat his problems were pointless because of them he was difficult to love. So Vader hadn't even waited a moment before grabbing his things and leaving the flat. He went back to his apartment with Ava, and began to move towards his bedroom to be able to cry, he heard one of the twins crying, and without thinking went to their room and took little Nico out of the crib and held him lightly shushing him to sleep while also accutely aware that he was crying too. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

D'Artagnan had been out of town for a few weeks on a job. It hadn't been overly challenging, but it had taken a good amount of legwork. In the end, though, he had managed to reunite a man with his estranged daughter- with her consent, of course. It had been oddly sweet. When he'd arrived home again, he'd texted Ava. Upon discovering that she was up most of the night with a fussy Nico anyway, she'd invited him over for tea and a chat. Taking her up on the offer, they'd been settled on the couch for about thirty minutes now chatting.

Nico had starting fussing again, but no sooner had Ava set her tea down and moved to get up than Vader had burst in, looking rather upset. Dart saw him deter into the twins room. He looked to Ava. "I'll take the twins back to my flat, let you two have some space," He offered immediately. Ava was quick to agree. Nodding, Dart moved to the twins room. He and Ava both appeared on either side of Vader. Dart gently took Nico and walked out to the living room. When he heard the door to Ava's room shut, he moved back to the nursery, packing up the twins and a diaper bag before taking off with the twins back to his flat.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was getting used to the spotty sleep that came with having twins. She didn't have company that night, as Vader had gone to spend time with his boyfriend. She knew how rocky that had been, and she wouldn't deny him anything he asked for. So she'd been pleasantly surprised to get a text from D'Artagnan and had been quick to invite him over. They'd been chatting for a bit, and just as she was thinking Nico might have finally settled, he started crying again. She set down her drink and started to stand, when Vader burst in. She saw the look on her face and immediately concern for him twisted her heart around.

She nodded eagerly as Dart offered his help, thanking him softly and rushing after her best friend. Once Nico was out of Vaders' arms, she did her best to guide him away and into her room. As the door shut behind them, she reached up, trying to cup his face in her hands. "Timmy? Timmy, what happened?" She asked, wiping at his tears with her thumbs.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader hadn't noticed anyone else was there, and felt immediately worse when Nico was moved out of his arms and into that of the man's. He felt embarrassed at his actions, at his tears, at ruining Ava's company. He knew that they were just catching up and anything more, but he felt as bad as he would've had he interrupted a date. He moved away, not wanting to look at Dart and then was somewhat resilient to being guided to the room. He immediately moved out of Ava's grasp, wiping away the tears himself. "Goku and I broke up," he just said quickly, knowing that it was better to say it and get it over with. "Well, I think we broke up," he then added, he'd said they were done, and had walked out but he didn't feel like he could ever walk back. "I just need a moment," his voice shook as he spoke, overwhelmed with tiredness from a lack of sleep and exhaustion from the fight he'd just had. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava's heart dropped into her toes at Vaders words. She hesitated, giving him a moment- a brief one, maybe a minute or two, but still a moment, before walking over and pulling him down into her arms, hugging him tightly. She brought a hand up to run through his hair. "Vader Hume," she murmured, almost in a scolding tone. "I've got you," she promised gently, pressing the softest kiss to his temple. "I'm right here," She murmured, and started humming their lullaby, rocking him gently.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader was pleased that Ava gave him a bit of a moment, he needed at least a little to let his mind wrap around it and let the emotions not overwhelm him too much. He let her arms wrapped around him and he appreciated the presence of his best friend. His heart ached for Goku, his heart ached for all they'd been through and worked through. His heart ached for the words spoken in that moment of cruelty, confirming all of Vaders worst fears. He hated that it felt like despite all of it, Goku had just not been as accepting of all the aspects of his life. Ava and the twins didn't cause him the stress that caused him to not sleep but in the worst words all he could hear was that the relationship had been second fiddle to Ava and her twins. In the worst way of it. He just need a moment, and though her humming was comforting, he wasn't going to sleep. There was no way. "I'm okay," he said despite the tears. "Things hadn't been good for a while, I should've seen this coming," his voice hitched as he spoke. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava held Vader close, stroking his hair and rocking him gently. She let him speak, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. "You can say anything you want Vader, but you don't have to explain yourself to me," she told him gently. "You're hurting. You can let yourself be in pain. Whatever happened, however it happened, it hurt you. The twins are gone, D'Artagnan took them to his flat. We're alone," She reassured her best friend, holding him close. "You can let go," she murmured in his ear.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader wasn't sure he wanted to let go, to let himself be overwhelmed by the inadequacey that he felt. To be faced with the failure that he was. He hadn't managed to make his relationship work, they had worked through so much, promises so much, suffered so much and it was all gone. Because no matter what the man said there was no walking back that last statement or fixing how Vader currently felt about him. It was ruined and he knew it. But letting go....he didn't want to. He just tried to take some deep breaths, force himself under control, he should've seen this coming and he should be fine with it. "It's okay Ava, you didn't need to do all that, I just need to sleep and I'll be fine," he lied, knowing she would see through it and knowing that he would never be able to sleep. "Or maybe I just need a drink," he was brushing tears away as often as they were coming but determined to just pretend nothing was wrong. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava's brow furrowed. She stayed close to Vader, gently rubbing his back. "Hey, come on," She murmured, trying to pull him down to lay with her. "Let's cuddle for a bit," She offered. With a wave of her hand, the music box started up. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," She spoke gently. "Just- come here, let's relax for a bit and then if you still want something to drink I can make us some cocktails," She smiled warmly at him. "Will you let me hold you?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader shook his head, he didn't want to lay down, he didn't want to sleep really, he just wanted to forget. He gave a shrug, he wanted a hug too, to be held for a little while. "Can I just drink a cocktail, maybe just sit for a bit?" he said, he wouldn't be able to sleep, and he didn't want to listen to something soothing, "Then we can cuddle, but only after I've had at least one drink, I want to forget all about it and then maybe...talk," he just needed a little moment, let his mind be less loud and be able to say something without it overwhelming him. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava smiled warmly, and shifted up, getting out of bed. "Of course, come on," She held out her hands, wanting to help him up. She moved to the kitchen then, going about making him his favorite cocktail. When she was finished, she offered it to him. "Alright, what do you wanna do?" She asked, reaching out to play with his hair. "I could let you drink your cocktail, then you can come meet me on the couch and we can cuddle and talk?" She offered. "Or I can play bartender and you can test all my new specials for the Hogs Head," She smiled.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader followed Ava out of the room and into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table, and glancing out of the window. He would need to close up his shop, inducate that he wasn't going to be in at least for the next couple of days. If he intended to drink right now and forget about the world for a bit. He shrugged, he wasn't sure what he wanted, other than forgotting. "I just want to forget for a little Ava," he repeated with a little shrug. "Let's just take this slowly, no planning ahead, let's just get us both a drink or just me, and then we can drink or I can drink and then we can decide what comes next. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava pouted a bit before taking a deep breath. Right, she needed to stop mothering him and just be his friend. "Alright!" She waved her hand and the stereo kicked on, playing her favorite party mix. She swept out all of her cocktail things, and quickly had made one for Vader and another for her. She slid his over, before summoning over a few board games. She smiled impishly at him. "Wanna play?" She practically purred, drumming her fingers on the lid of the top box.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader took the drink when it was handed to him. He knew he probably could've done without the music but he just listened along to it. Letting the alcohol quickly get into his system. It was early morning so it wasn't like he'd eaten anything in a while. He finished most of the drink in two goes but then nodded. "Sure, any will be fine," he said, not really caring but welcoming the distraction that it would give him. "I'll probably need another drink before we even get started," he said half jokingly, but holding it up. He knew he was drinking and would drink to fast, but tonight...this morning....he didn't really care about that. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava pulled out Cards Against Humanity, mixing Vader another drink and pulling out crisps and dip. She spent the next few hours distracting Vader, playing games, feeding him chips, and as he got to a pleasant buzz, she started un-spiking his cocktails, making them more soda with just enough booze to keep him buzzed. She wanted to help, not kill him with alcohol poisoning. And she had the feeling he wouldn't just listen to her trying to cut him off. They'd made it through most of the deck, and Ava was giggling happily. "Do you wanna dance?" She asked, giving Vader a bright smile.

 

[Vader Hume]

The buzz was nice, he could feel it in his fingers, his mind was numb and his eyesight fading slightly. but it was just nice. He wasn't thinking about it, and was focusing on having fun, on playing the game with Ava, he deeply appreciated her friendship over the years. She was his closest friend, his other half, he wanted a relationship, and would put himself out there when he was over Goku but Ava would always be his friend. At the offer to dance he stood up and held out his hands to her. He wanted to thank her for being his friend, for hanging out with him, for all the kindness she had ever shown him but he refused to get sappy, sappy would make him sad and he didn't want to be sad. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled, taking his hands and trying to pull him out to dance with her. She was reminded of all the school dances, though she wasn't dressed up and this was much more casual, more fun. She was tempted to tell him she loved him, but at this point that should be obvious. So instead she just pulled him into a more energetic dance, giggling and trying to make sure he had a good time.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader allowed himself to be pulled into dancing. He had never been much of a dancer, having always been taking pictures and lingering around in the background during the yuleball celebrations or other school ones, but allowed himself this, to let his mind ease away as he danced. Letting memories and worries of Goku, of Padme, of what he would do next wash away. He was always very thankful for her in his life. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled, spinning and dancing with Vader to the music. As the song faded, she stumbled, giggling and pulling him into a hug. She nuzzled her face against his hair, humming happily. She ran her hand through his soft locks, relaxing against him. "What do you want to do now?" She asked, pulling back enough that she could brush his hair from his eyes.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader could feel the buzz moving to the next stage. He accepted the hug and then smiled. "I think it's time to go to bed," he said softly, he'd forgotten enough, and his body was drunk and tired. He needed to just lie down and hope that the alcohol would do what it needed to, to get him to sleep. "Any more alcohol and I'll hurl everywhere," Vader laughed lightly. It was time to call this done, go to sleep and move on with his life. He had other things to worry about anyway. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled softly, and with a wave of her hand the flat started picking itself back up. "Come on then, you," She pulled his hand, gently leading him back to her room. If he thought she was going to leave him alone now, he was crazy. She had changed into her pajamas earlier, and managed to at least get his shoes off before she pulled him down into bed with her. She wound up the music box, yawning and pulling him in to cuddle. She made sure they were both covered and comfortable before she relaxed, running her hand through his hair and humming softly to him.