[PRP] Congratulations (Shiloh & Jamie)

[Melancholies]

It was a rare day off. Shiloh commemorated it with sleeping in past 9 o'clock. No stupid classes for a bit, no work today, no nothing. He wasn't even going to take time for magic, not with how stressful it'd been lately. Just him and his favorite person and his turtle and maybe a nice lunch (he was thinking fastfood. Maybe Subway?)

"Jaaaaame." He finally roused into the waking world, his body rolling over to prod at the sleeping thing next to him. "Jamieeee. I'm ******** starving."

Up on the windowsill was the soft chirping sounds of birds. It was a lovely sound, or would be if it was coming from the outside rather than in. Shiloh was too sleep drunk to notice it though.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

The only thing rarer than a day off for one of them was a day off for both. It was honestly like winning the lottery or getting picked for a dream vacation in a contest you never entered. No complaints, Jamie would take it, same way he'd take the extra sleep that had him snoozing next to Shiloh up until the very moment he started complaining like his stomach was eating itself.

"Huh, wha-?" he mumbled eloquently, eyes creaking open, squinting even in the dim light. "What time is it...?"

Rolling over, he picked up his phone and was greeted with a way-too-bright 10:47 am. They sure had slept in. "It's almost lunchtime... we can get something." Not that he was making much of a move, at least not until he heard the chirping. It was somewhere between a bird and a kitten, Jamie thought, and it was a little disconcerting.

"You hear that?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Eat, 'n then nap s'more..." He yawned. It wasn't like he wanted to sleep away a precious day with his precious boyfriend, but like, he was tired as hell. When Jamie rolled away to fiddle with his phone, he rolled over too to spoon up behind him, his face swallowed up in the poofy mess of Jamie's hair.

"Hear what...?" He tried to focus a little bit, but the chirps were still a little dull. Eventually he lifted his head, eyes still closed in the light of the afternoon. "Sounds like birds."

He wasn't concerned at all.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Sounds kinda weird." Even so, Jamie let his phone drop uselessly near his pillow as he relaxed back against Shiloh. It was hard to resist cuddles, nearly impossible, and he let his curiosity go for a few minutes. It was probably just a bird perched a bit too close to the window. He shut his eyes.

Except it couldn't last forever, not even the comfortable curve of his boyfriend's body could totally banish the wonder at the back of Jamie's mind. With his eyes closed he looked gone to the world, but his mind was very much awake, buzzing with questions, poking, prodding. Eventually it was too much to take. He reached back to Shiloh's hip, his touch momentary and apologetic, before he wiggle-wormed his way out of bed. It was cold, but he pushed past the chill.

"Hey, Shiloh...?" was what he said after a brief moment of silence. His hands were on the windowsill and his lip was pressed between his teeth.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh made a very pathetic sound (probably as pathetic as the weird chirping that was coming from the window) when Jamie left his side. Whatever, he'd let Jamie go gallivanting around the room if that's what he wanted. How did the saying go? If you love him let him go? He'd come back eventually, probably, maybe. If he was loved.

Eventually he lifted his head when Jamie spoke out to him. "Whaaaat...?" His eyes were still closed, even though he was looking in Jamie's direction. The chirping didn't grow in volume, but it grew in frequency. "Did you let the bird inside or somethin'?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"It's not a bird," he said, totally ignoring the dramatics going on down there. It was something he was used to, not because Shiloh alone did it often, but because they both pulled it on each other. They were silly like that. "It's a... Okay, look, you gotta get up and see this. I'm not even kidding." Where Jamie might've sounded calm before, his voice picked up and his body language said he was trying not to get weird about it.

Stooping back to the bed, he shook Shiloh's shoulder urgently. "Shiloh, come ooooon."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh groaned. "Alright, alright..." He finally sat upright (not unlike a vampire rising from the grave) and stretched lazily. He was taking his sweet a** time, his spine popped, his arms popped, his shoulders stretched towards the sky. Finally he scratched a spot on his side before meandering up behind Jamie.

What greeted him was really ******** weird. On the windowsill—rather, like, one of his potted plants (which was now lacking a plant)—was a small... tiny... thing. He realized with a start that he had seen a thing like this in Court, but it wasn't like this. This was small. It looked like a ******** bean and it had these little... appendages that were flailing all over the place. It rolled over and chirped, somehow, because it was sure as hell lacking a mouth.

"What the ******** is that." He said, both nonchalant and urgent at the same time.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Honestly, Jamie had been trying to decide since before properly rousing Shiloh just what the ******** it was. As they stood there gawking he still hadn't quite decided, not until that very moment. The words spilled out of his mouth like a waterfall, "It's a bean," he whispered harshly, not knowing they were both traveling the same line of thought. There simply wasn't another word to adequately describe the tiny, pitiful little thing.

"Look at it, oh my god," his voice was somewhere between incredulous and affectionate in the way someone might be towards a newborn kitten who was pretty damn cute, admittedly, but also a wet, wrinkly, kinda gross mess. "Where did it come from??" Now he was back to shaking Shiloh's arm.

Melancholiessss

 

[Melancholies]

"It's..." He made a face. "It's kind of disgusting." The thingy chirped again, the sound soft like a little squeak. Still, Shiloh couldn't help himself. It was a plant... sort of. Maybe. Could he do anything with it? He scooped the bean-thing into his hand.

The bean thing proceeded to flop around wildly for about 5 seconds before settling down, apparently content. "It's cold..." He noted carefully before peering into the pot. In the center was a small hole, like the thing had just... dug itself out of the ******** dirt.

"I can't deal with this." He said, still sounding pretty calm despite the statement.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"It's kind of cute," is what Jamie opted for, a direct contrast to Shiloh's choice, but he had this sneaking suspicion they both felt the same way. It was cute, but also a little disgusting. "Oh no, the poor thing, I wonder if that's why it was chirping so much..." Gently, carefully despite not going directly for the bean, Jamie cupped his hand beneath Shiloh's as if it might add more warmth.

"Y'know, I think you got this, though," he said next after a short moment of deliberation. It was a joke, sure, but it was also an attempt to calm the storm that brewed beneath the otherwise tranquil surface. It would be okay.

"You're like... a plant dad- Wait, do I get to be a dad now, too?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh stiffened. "I-I'm not—" His eyes got wide, "Oh my god. I'm not ready for this!" The thing chirped and wiggled at the sudden loud noise. Shiloh quieted down again, his posture wobbling back and forth a little bit even with Jamie's gentle touch. "I'm not. I can't be a plant dad. What if it grows up and wants to play baseball or something? I never did sports!" He was freaking out, sort of. Kind of. Mostly.

His fingers cupped around it slightly. It snuggled into one of his fingers. "This is so ******** weird." He grimaced. "Oh my god. Take it. Take the bean Jamie."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

There was no pulling the logic and reason card when Shiloh got like this. It would've made sense for Jamie to mention how tiny the bean-baby was and how unlikely it was it would be picking up anything, let alone a baseball, anytime soon, but he didn't bother. Instead he opted for the it's okay, boo back rub between the shoulder blades, only stopping when it became apparent that Shiloh wasn't gonna be chilling until he had a bean-less moment to really contemplate life.

Jamie took the bean. Honestly, it was like it wasn't even there, light as a goddamn feather. Its tiny limbs felt like a stray hair did when it brushed past your nose. For a moment he held his breath, afraid exhaling too hard would send the thing tumbling straight out of his hands and to its premature doom.

"I've got it," he finally said, quietly and without much mouth movement. "Hey, it's... it's gonna be okay, you know." Of all the things magic had thrown at them, this was pretty weird, but also not trying to kill them. Yet.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh seemed placated by the back rub, which was Jamie's usual go to for calming down his wildly outrageous antics. It didn't hurt to contemplate the future, okay? What if his bean-child wanted its own turtle or something? What if it wanted to be a lawyer? He couldn't be the one to tell it that was an impossible dream, that they didn't have enough room for another tank and he was piss poor and law-school was a far off dream. He knew the pain of being unable to walk across that stage. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, future bean child or otherwise.

"Don't squash it." He said as he hovered over Jamie, surprisingly worried despite being all 'get it away from me'. The bean-thing wriggled around, its tiny hands slapping uselessly against Jamie's palm. After a moment it settled down, but not before craning its head up, two tiny pinpricks of eyes staring into the world. They closed again and the shriveled thing became a round ball.

"I'm gonna die." Shiloh said finally.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"I'm not gonna squash it," Jamie assured, trying not to laugh at how quickly Shiloh changed his tune when the bean was out of his protection. It would be fine, though, because he was just as worried about accidentally crushing the tiny lump and so was watching his own movements like a goddamn hawk. "Look at it... it's so..." He bit his lip. Those eyes. So small, but so there, reminding Jamie all over again that this moment was very real. Somehow, through Shiloh's plant magic he could only assume, this creature had been created.

Jamie's instinct was to assure Shiloh a second time then, to tell him he wasn't gonna die, but instead he went with what his heart was telling him. "I think I'm gonna die, too..."

He had to sit down. Moving back to the bed, tucking his feet up under him, he settled on the edge. The bean was secure, still cradled and round and definitely warmer than before in his palm.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"I just..." He sighed, moving to follow Jamie, still hovering over him like a hawk, "I don't ******** know how this happened." He set his chin on Jamie's shoulder, eyes downcast on the rolling bean child. "Actually..." He squinted.

"I was in Court the other day and I saw something like this, but it was bigger." He held his fingers out for comparison, "Like, an inch or so." He made the approximation between his index finger and his thumb. "But it wasn't all... gross looking like that."

Shiloh let his eyes close for a second, the full weight of his head relaxed against Jamie's frame. When he opened them again they were calmer, softer. "Should we name it?"

saedusk