"Who the hell is Charlie?" Hanna asked, and then Maurice opened his god damn mouth. And it had been going so good too.
Taking a rather large bite of his sandwich, Hanna chewed slowly. Maybe if his mouth was full he wouldn't be forced to blurt out answers and get berated. "Nnnophpuh." He responds with a mouthful. He was bad at lying like this, even if he was good at the other kind, so. Full mouth lying it was.
Maurice couldn't answer. He was busy lifting his arm and trying to defend himself and Hanna from the sheer TIDAL WAVE of anger crashing down on them.
"Maurice, how long have--you said your situation was 'up in the air'! This isn't 'up in the air' this is 'in a dark alley sitting like a couple of ducks waiting for that creepy firefighter to show up'! Or worse!"
She reached into the floorboards and grabbed up a fistful of their garbage before throwing it at both of them.
"Why didn't you tell me! We KILLED MONSTERS TOGETHER! You're my best friend!" All the shouting irritated her injury but she didn't stop throwing stuff at them. Markers, empty drink cups, a shoe. Who's shoe? It was a mystery. "And YOU!" She pointed at Hanna. "You just LET HIM!"
Hanna's yelp of surprise was a lot more alarmed than when Maurice had scooped him up. He shielded his face yelling 'no, no no!' and yanno, a combination of 'ahhhhh's. but.
When the anger is turned on him, he peaks behind fingers, afraid of this woman's wrath. How come all the ladies he's ever met could turn into a pile of frightening rage at a moments notice? It wasn't fair. "W-what was I supposed to do! I just got a job like, three weeks ago! I couldn't pay any bills! He's been making sure I eat and that's what we could afford!"
Said ginger kind of sucks in a breath, unsure, not really knowing what she'd do if he attempted more defense, but hell if he was going to let her get angry at Maurice. It really wasn't his fault. Well if kind of was, but...what else was a dude to do?
"I literally show up out of nowhere and he introduces me to his mom and we think his family is going to kill me. It's alright, it's cool but you don't ask a lady like that if you and your boyfriend can sleep on the couch for a few weeks, man. And I don't know anyone. I'm not even from this dimension!" Hanna groans, the terrified feeling melting into frustration, "I work a shitty job where people know i'm some kind of queer and no one is responding to my business cards. They probably think I'm fucking crazy, and to be completely honest, this truck is nicer than my apartment back home. It's got bigger windows and the ceiling doesn't leak." He huffs, sitting up a little more, sitting so Maurice is practically blocked from view, which is impressive, even if Hanna all puffed up isn't quite so intimidating.
"So. Pathetic as we are, it's fine. And who wants to tell their friend they have a shitty living situation anyways? It's fine. We're fine. So stop throwing shoes at people and w-well!" He kind of lost his thunder there, "Uh. forgive him or something."
When Hanna rose to her challenge, Meranda set her teeth and let him talk. Good. She was getting answers. Maurice couldn't help but be impressed. Hanna hadn't put himself between Maurice and CERTAIN DEATH since the spiders. However, they weren't answers that she liked and as Hanna's wind left his sails, hers just billowed.
"No, it is NOT fine!" She took her hand off her side so she could make TWO little angry fists. "I don't care if you're from NARNIA, you idiots can't keep living like this!" She put her fingers to her temple and let out a few slow huffs. Practiced calming exercise? Possibly. "Whatever. It's settled. Maurice, we're going to my house."
"What?" Maurice sat up then, nearly dumping Hanna out of his lap. "What, no, we can't! Your-- I mean with your--he--"
"Yeah, I know, Dad's dead. The house is empty." Meranda caught herself. She'd nearly hiccuped as suddenly saying it out loud after everything she'd been through made it more final than the cremation ceremony. Than the battle in the underground. Than boxing up his things with the only person who'd kept her sane during it all. "The house...has a spare room now." She peeled a receipt off the dash that was stuck there with mustard.
Hanna's saliva caught in his throat and he almost choked. The sentence gets him in ways that most things don't. He doesn't deal well with peoples parents. He doesn't deal well with the mention of their death either and he doesn't want to recoil because that's rude but any sort of condolences can't come out of his closed throat.
For a little while, the only sound in the cab came from the rain drumming on the roof. Meranda's mouth had become a grim, wobbly line and she slowly changed her gaze to somewhere around her knees.
This was sudden. Maurice couldn't imagine what she was feeling...but what she'd said was true. He should have told her. She was his friend. It had taken him a long time to accept people that could be truly, truly concerned about him. Even love him. Exhibit A being in his lap.
"Are...are you sure you're okay with that?" Maurice finally ventured.
Meranda put her game face back on and looked him in the eye. She'd been thinking of how long he must have been hiding in that smelly vampire basement.She'd lived in some holes too once she escaped her mother, but she'd never had to support anybody but herself and her cat. But never her car.
"You saved my life, Maurice."
"You saved mine first!"
"That's not the point!" She lifted her hands. "This isn't a contest. Look, I wouldn'ta offered if I wasn't serious. You're my friend, I care about you, I want you to be okay." She glanced to Hanna, going red in the face again. He must think she's a crazy person.
Maurice opened and closed his mouth a few times before leaning around and looking down at his boyfriend. "Uuuuuh. What d'you think?"
Hanna listened, swallowing and slowly regaining his ability to speak. He had heard conversations like this, had had them himself with his own friends, had argued against help, had tried to keep them from helping him, but...it wasn't just him any more. It was both of them, and if it helped him not worry about Maurice burning in the daylight while he slept in the cab, then it was okay with him.
"When I first met my Zombie partner back home I let him live in my house the day I hired him..." Hanna glances at Meranda, tries for a smile even though he feels more dead inside than he actually is. "If you're offering, I can't say no. That and then I don't have to worry about Maury burning."
"Zombie?" Meranda lifted a brow. But then she snorted. "Maury? That is cute."
"Why do people keep SAYIN' that? It's just--it's just a name!" Maurice turned purple and ran his hand across his face.
The Chicago girl just shook her head and looked out at the rainy streets. "I can't have my friend catching on fire when I can stop it. Rent won't be so much of a pain. We'll be saving each others' asses. Collective ass saving. We'll start an ass bank."
It always makes him smile a little when he can get the vampire to turn funny colors. "I've got more, just wait." Though, his smile turns more into a grin, a genuine one as she continues talking.
"Sorry but my ass can't contribute much. I mean, you haven't seen me from behind yet but it's kind of not there. It's like, an innie, I fucking swear."
"It kind of is," Maurice admitted. "But we over look that, don't we?" He bounced Hanna on his knee a couple of times and gave him a grin.
In her weariness and still reeling from shock and the sheer magnitude of the way her life was about to change, Meranda let out a few breathy laughs. "You can start by driving your new landlord back to the rental parking lot so she can get in her car. You remember the way?"
Maurice nodded. He didn't remember when he started to grin, but now he couldn't stop. "Yeah." He'd gone a couple of times to help her clean out the trailer. "See you in a bit? We kinda got--we got a thing to finish."
"Wh--oh! OH! Right! Ahaha. Excuse me. I'll show myself out. I think I can find the door." She blindly reached behind her and managed to open it. A few awkward, rushed waves later, she was gone.
Maurice stared dead ahead and quietly put his hands on the wheel.
"Sweet Potato, did that just happen? Will you pinch me?"
When Meranda disappeared, Hanna looked at Maurice, watching him, taking it all in himself.
He had never met her, but he liked her, even if she was more rough than most. She almost reminded him of Conrad, just less rough and outwardly caring. She didn't mind if you knew she was trying to help it seemed.
He leans forward, wordlessly and pinches Maurice's side hard, just because he knows it'll get a reaction, relieve some of that tension, that disbelief and asks, "I dunno, you still with me?"
Almost as soon as the request left his mouth, he forgot about it. So the pinch surprised him and he let out a holler. "A-OWH! You didn't have to do it so hard!"
He pouted his big red eyes at Hanna. Then he grabbed his stupid little face up in his hands and brought it to his lips.
Hanna laughed, though it was cut short by the kiss, unable to do much but sit there a moment before he started, much more gently, pinching his sides again. Almost reminisce of tickling, but a little more pinchy. He was laughing against Maurice's mouth.
Maurice started making sounds that were half squawk and half laugh as Hanna kept grabbing at his sides. They flirted and poked and prodded a plenty but every time he couldn't help but be thrilled that somebody wanted to touch him.
"Be-- be carefu-ul!" He didn't fight it but he did turn his face to one side while they were horsing around. "Watch your te-HEETH!"
"Watch yours, fangs." Hanna doesn't let up, continuing the assault and squirming closer to corner Maurice in the side of the cab. He kisses his cheek, enthusiastically before he blows a raspberry on it and laughs, finally settling back.
It's impossible to sort the laughter out from ridiculous yelping. It wasn't fair that the most ticklish also had the most surface area. The raspberry completely disarmed him. He brought his hands up to protect his face.
Leaning forward once more Hanna presses a kiss to the backs of Maurice's hands and settles back down again, grabbing his sandwich.
"Gotta interrupt 'cutest fucking vampire ever' time for dinner now. Cause I'm starving. And we have to meet Meranda in a little bit, right?" He leans forward again after swallowing, scooting close so that the knee that was bent on the bench cushion was touching Maurice's leg, "And you know what sounds great about what happens after that?"
Another bite, god this sandwich was good. "Sleeping in a real bed with you sounds like heaven and a half, dude."
"O-oh! Right! Ahah. Hah. Food. To be continued, then..."
Where'd his own sandwich go? Once he recovered it, he sagged against the seat and watched the rain roll down the hood of the car. Somehow it just tasted better knowing that after this? They could go to a place with a garbage can. And put the wrappers in there. It didn't feel real.
Headlights lit up the alley for a moment as Meranda's small green car rolled by, heading to the edge of town where the land opened up.
"That's our cue, par'dner. Buckle up." He cranked up the engine and pulled out into the street, following his friend into the night. He wished that he'd set this all up somehow. That would just be the perfect ending, wouldn't it?
However, the happy ending could not come in the middle of the story.
Hanna pulled his seat belt on, chewing in happy silence, though at the same time he kind of worried. He didn't know Meranda very well and while he had made a good impression on the other 'friends' he had met of Maurice's, the vampire hadn't been very happy with him. At least Meranda knew about the paranormal...
Finishing a good portion of his sandwich, he had been feeling especially ravenous, Hanna leaned over the cab, resting his head as best he could on Maurice's arm as he drove. "It's kind of weird, not seeing buildings everywhere...I wonder how long it'll take me to get used to it."
"Tell me about it, what a sight for sore eyes." Maurice seemed to have missed the point. "For the past...I dunno, four years it's either been buildings buildings buildings or hallways hallways hallways."
Something then occurred to him. He patted his face in the dark as the last streetlights disappeared behind them. He wished that the mirror Hanna had made for them had survived the journey across worlds. "Hanna...do I look different from when you met me at all? I've been gone for a long, long time."
Hanna laughs. He gets that this was Maurice's life, his home and the familiar probably felt good, but to him? It was almost as strange as Ruby city. "Its so strange to me...like, i want the buildings and the sirens and the city noise and its just...its not really there." He sighs, rubbing his temple against his arm and turns his head to take another bite, one of the last few left. "Sometimes the quiet makes it hard to sleep but i guess Ruby city was a little like this at night...no city noise. But at least this quiet isnt as unsettling." He considers the feel of the city, "and i cant feel angry ghosts in the air thick as fucking fog. That's a comfort."
The magic here wasn't an in your face presence as it had been in the city. He wasnt sure if this would help his business or not, but finishing that last bite he considered Maurice's face, shaking his head. "You look like you always have to me...same old Maurice." He figures he'll have to spend some time working on a new one. "We could find you a nice mirrow at a thrift shop and i can work my magic again if you want. A bigger mirror."
"Maybe we can find you one of them....oh, what are they called? Those noise tapes people listen to sometimes with birds and rain and stuff. But with city noises."
He would do everything in his power to make this a good home for Hanna. Not just a place that currently wasn't trying to catch him, not a place that only lasted as long as the money did, but a home like he'd had growing up. When Hanna gave him the lowdown on his appearance, he puffed out a little sigh. He wasn't sure if it was of relief or not.
"Oh, man, that'd be nice. I wish I still had th' one you made though. That one's special." He gave Hanna a sad little smile before the green car up ahead of them suddenly turned toward a collection of low boxy shapes up ahead. It was a trailer park--a cluster of tiny homes that circled around a U turn of gravel. Meranda's was on the curve of the U. To the south was Dogtrot. To the north was nothing but open road. To the east was corn and the west? Pine woods.
"That might be nice...maybe someone is selling an ipod on craigslist real cheap. And a laptop." He looks a little somber at the mention of technology. His ancient one at home had notes for miles on runes and history. All the research he had ever done on the shitty old thing, and a decent external hard drive to help back it all up. But here? He had to start from scratch. Build a new what he had worked hard to create. No networks, no allies. Just Maurice.
"You know any good old bookshops around here? I wanna look for some stuff on magic if I can...see if it works much different here. We could get you that mirror while we were out and kill two birds with one stone." Hanna leans a little more heavily against Maurice at the mention of the mirror back in the city, knowing it was special. "I still remember the look on your face...I loved that."
Though, he's pulled out of his thoughts when they turn. It's different from what Hanna's ever really seen, but...he's sure it'll be fine. He'll get used to it. "Home sweet home."
Maurice slowed down before turning so that he could give Hanna a look.
"Taters, you know I don't read." His expression softened as something dawned on him. "I do know of a regular book store though..."
Meranda was already on the porch waiting for them when the truck pulled into the drive. Her trailer was a double wide with a cute little roofted porch and a small lean-to carport. A few trash cans stood next to the porch and a single lawn gnome stood vigil in the center of the 'yard'. The mailbox was crooked.
Maurice killed the engine and climbed out. It felt different than all the other times. He stretched his legs in earnest and looked at the house. He'd only been inside a few times and each time was for grim reasons--being hit by a car and helping his only friend clear away reminders of her father.
Meranda had fallen quiet with her arms folded before her, drumming her slim fingers. She was thinking. She hoped she was doing this for the right reasons. After spending so long being nasty to Maurice and everybody else, she worried about her own motives. Had she really moved down here to take care of her dad because she loved him or to spite her mother? Was she converting the trailer into Meranda's Home for Wayward Ghouls and Their Boyfriends because she was a good person? She sure hoped so.
The vampire interrupted her thoughts. "Do you still have some of those trash bags left? We're, uh, gonna need like two." He looked back at Hanna. "Maybe three."
"Well you can learn to look for books that'll help me. I'm a little low on resources down here." He says, at least with a little smile on his face. as much as he can manage. Thinking about it makes him a little sick sometimes. Magic ran thick in Ruby city at the very least. Here, not so much.
When they get out, Hanna adjusts his glasses to get a good look. It's much better than his apartment back home, much better than living in a truck, and as Maurice looks back at him, he flushes, thinking of the dirty clothes, trash, and all the other shit that has built up. They cleaned, kind of. Hanna did when he was getting up when Maurice was asleep during the day, dumping things in alleyway garbage bins, but...other times he was trying to keep himself clean, and his clothes so he didn't get complaints at work. That...was harder than cleaning the truck and took priority.
"Uh..." He manages, looking back at the truck again and moving to start gathering socks and underwear, sorting through with trash, some cranes he had folded from fast food wrappers, some he debated on keeping. Hopefully Meranda liked Origami.
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theattic2014-11-09 07:55 pm
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Taking a rather large bite of his sandwich, Hanna chewed slowly. Maybe if his mouth was full he wouldn't be forced to blurt out answers and get berated. "Nnnophpuh." He responds with a mouthful. He was bad at lying like this, even if he was good at the other kind, so. Full mouth lying it was.
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"Maurice, how long have--you said your situation was 'up in the air'! This isn't 'up in the air' this is 'in a dark alley sitting like a couple of ducks waiting for that creepy firefighter to show up'! Or worse!"
She reached into the floorboards and grabbed up a fistful of their garbage before throwing it at both of them.
"Why didn't you tell me! We KILLED MONSTERS TOGETHER! You're my best friend!" All the shouting irritated her injury but she didn't stop throwing stuff at them. Markers, empty drink cups, a shoe. Who's shoe? It was a mystery. "And YOU!" She pointed at Hanna. "You just LET HIM!"
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When the anger is turned on him, he peaks behind fingers, afraid of this woman's wrath. How come all the ladies he's ever met could turn into a pile of frightening rage at a moments notice? It wasn't fair. "W-what was I supposed to do! I just got a job like, three weeks ago! I couldn't pay any bills! He's been making sure I eat and that's what we could afford!"
Said ginger kind of sucks in a breath, unsure, not really knowing what she'd do if he attempted more defense, but hell if he was going to let her get angry at Maurice. It really wasn't his fault. Well if kind of was, but...what else was a dude to do?
"I literally show up out of nowhere and he introduces me to his mom and we think his family is going to kill me. It's alright, it's cool but you don't ask a lady like that if you and your boyfriend can sleep on the couch for a few weeks, man. And I don't know anyone. I'm not even from this dimension!" Hanna groans, the terrified feeling melting into frustration, "I work a shitty job where people know i'm some kind of queer and no one is responding to my business cards. They probably think I'm fucking crazy, and to be completely honest, this truck is nicer than my apartment back home. It's got bigger windows and the ceiling doesn't leak." He huffs, sitting up a little more, sitting so Maurice is practically blocked from view, which is impressive, even if Hanna all puffed up isn't quite so intimidating.
"So. Pathetic as we are, it's fine. And who wants to tell their friend they have a shitty living situation anyways? It's fine. We're fine. So stop throwing shoes at people and w-well!" He kind of lost his thunder there, "Uh. forgive him or something."
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"No, it is NOT fine!" She took her hand off her side so she could make TWO little angry fists. "I don't care if you're from NARNIA, you idiots can't keep living like this!" She put her fingers to her temple and let out a few slow huffs. Practiced calming exercise? Possibly. "Whatever. It's settled. Maurice, we're going to my house."
"What?" Maurice sat up then, nearly dumping Hanna out of his lap. "What, no, we can't! Your-- I mean with your--he--"
"Yeah, I know, Dad's dead. The house is empty." Meranda caught herself. She'd nearly hiccuped as suddenly saying it out loud after everything she'd been through made it more final than the cremation ceremony. Than the battle in the underground. Than boxing up his things with the only person who'd kept her sane during it all. "The house...has a spare room now." She peeled a receipt off the dash that was stuck there with mustard.
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He's just quiet and can't make any eye contact.
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This was sudden. Maurice couldn't imagine what she was feeling...but what she'd said was true. He should have told her. She was his friend. It had taken him a long time to accept people that could be truly, truly concerned about him. Even love him. Exhibit A being in his lap.
"Are...are you sure you're okay with that?" Maurice finally ventured.
Meranda put her game face back on and looked him in the eye. She'd been thinking of how long he must have been hiding in that smelly vampire basement.She'd lived in some holes too once she escaped her mother, but she'd never had to support anybody but herself and her cat. But never her car.
"You saved my life, Maurice."
"You saved mine first!"
"That's not the point!" She lifted her hands. "This isn't a contest. Look, I wouldn'ta offered if I wasn't serious. You're my friend, I care about you, I want you to be okay." She glanced to Hanna, going red in the face again. He must think she's a crazy person.
Maurice opened and closed his mouth a few times before leaning around and looking down at his boyfriend. "Uuuuuh. What d'you think?"
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"When I first met my Zombie partner back home I let him live in my house the day I hired him..." Hanna glances at Meranda, tries for a smile even though he feels more dead inside than he actually is. "If you're offering, I can't say no. That and then I don't have to worry about Maury burning."
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"Why do people keep SAYIN' that? It's just--it's just a name!" Maurice turned purple and ran his hand across his face.
The Chicago girl just shook her head and looked out at the rainy streets. "I can't have my friend catching on fire when I can stop it. Rent won't be so much of a pain. We'll be saving each others' asses. Collective ass saving. We'll start an ass bank."
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"Sorry but my ass can't contribute much. I mean, you haven't seen me from behind yet but it's kind of not there. It's like, an innie, I fucking swear."
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In her weariness and still reeling from shock and the sheer magnitude of the way her life was about to change, Meranda let out a few breathy laughs. "You can start by driving your new landlord back to the rental parking lot so she can get in her car. You remember the way?"
Maurice nodded. He didn't remember when he started to grin, but now he couldn't stop. "Yeah." He'd gone a couple of times to help her clean out the trailer. "See you in a bit? We kinda got--we got a thing to finish."
"Wh--oh! OH! Right! Ahaha. Excuse me. I'll show myself out. I think I can find the door." She blindly reached behind her and managed to open it. A few awkward, rushed waves later, she was gone.
Maurice stared dead ahead and quietly put his hands on the wheel.
"Sweet Potato, did that just happen? Will you pinch me?"
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He had never met her, but he liked her, even if she was more rough than most. She almost reminded him of Conrad, just less rough and outwardly caring. She didn't mind if you knew she was trying to help it seemed.
He leans forward, wordlessly and pinches Maurice's side hard, just because he knows it'll get a reaction, relieve some of that tension, that disbelief and asks, "I dunno, you still with me?"
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He pouted his big red eyes at Hanna. Then he grabbed his stupid little face up in his hands and brought it to his lips.
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"But I wanted to. I still want to!"
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"Be-- be carefu-ul!" He didn't fight it but he did turn his face to one side while they were horsing around. "Watch your te-HEETH!"
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"Gotchu."
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"No! Nooo!"
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"Gotta interrupt 'cutest fucking vampire ever' time for dinner now. Cause I'm starving. And we have to meet Meranda in a little bit, right?" He leans forward again after swallowing, scooting close so that the knee that was bent on the bench cushion was touching Maurice's leg, "And you know what sounds great about what happens after that?"
Another bite, god this sandwich was good. "Sleeping in a real bed with you sounds like heaven and a half, dude."
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Where'd his own sandwich go? Once he recovered it, he sagged against the seat and watched the rain roll down the hood of the car. Somehow it just tasted better knowing that after this? They could go to a place with a garbage can. And put the wrappers in there. It didn't feel real.
Headlights lit up the alley for a moment as Meranda's small green car rolled by, heading to the edge of town where the land opened up.
"That's our cue, par'dner. Buckle up." He cranked up the engine and pulled out into the street, following his friend into the night. He wished that he'd set this all up somehow. That would just be the perfect ending, wouldn't it?
However, the happy ending could not come in the middle of the story.
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Finishing a good portion of his sandwich, he had been feeling especially ravenous, Hanna leaned over the cab, resting his head as best he could on Maurice's arm as he drove. "It's kind of weird, not seeing buildings everywhere...I wonder how long it'll take me to get used to it."
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Something then occurred to him. He patted his face in the dark as the last streetlights disappeared behind them. He wished that the mirror Hanna had made for them had survived the journey across worlds. "Hanna...do I look different from when you met me at all? I've been gone for a long, long time."
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The magic here wasn't an in your face presence as it had been in the city. He wasnt sure if this would help his business or not, but finishing that last bite he considered Maurice's face, shaking his head. "You look like you always have to me...same old Maurice." He figures he'll have to spend some time working on a new one. "We could find you a nice mirrow at a thrift shop and i can work my magic again if you want. A bigger mirror."
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He would do everything in his power to make this a good home for Hanna. Not just a place that currently wasn't trying to catch him, not a place that only lasted as long as the money did, but a home like he'd had growing up. When Hanna gave him the lowdown on his appearance, he puffed out a little sigh. He wasn't sure if it was of relief or not.
"Oh, man, that'd be nice. I wish I still had th' one you made though. That one's special." He gave Hanna a sad little smile before the green car up ahead of them suddenly turned toward a collection of low boxy shapes up ahead. It was a trailer park--a cluster of tiny homes that circled around a U turn of gravel. Meranda's was on the curve of the U. To the south was Dogtrot. To the north was nothing but open road. To the east was corn and the west? Pine woods.
"Whup--looks like we're here."
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"You know any good old bookshops around here? I wanna look for some stuff on magic if I can...see if it works much different here. We could get you that mirror while we were out and kill two birds with one stone." Hanna leans a little more heavily against Maurice at the mention of the mirror back in the city, knowing it was special. "I still remember the look on your face...I loved that."
Though, he's pulled out of his thoughts when they turn. It's different from what Hanna's ever really seen, but...he's sure it'll be fine. He'll get used to it. "Home sweet home."
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"Taters, you know I don't read." His expression softened as something dawned on him. "I do know of a regular book store though..."
Meranda was already on the porch waiting for them when the truck pulled into the drive. Her trailer was a double wide with a cute little roofted porch and a small lean-to carport. A few trash cans stood next to the porch and a single lawn gnome stood vigil in the center of the 'yard'. The mailbox was crooked.
Maurice killed the engine and climbed out. It felt different than all the other times. He stretched his legs in earnest and looked at the house. He'd only been inside a few times and each time was for grim reasons--being hit by a car and helping his only friend clear away reminders of her father.
Meranda had fallen quiet with her arms folded before her, drumming her slim fingers. She was thinking. She hoped she was doing this for the right reasons. After spending so long being nasty to Maurice and everybody else, she worried about her own motives. Had she really moved down here to take care of her dad because she loved him or to spite her mother? Was she converting the trailer into Meranda's Home for Wayward Ghouls and Their Boyfriends because she was a good person? She sure hoped so.
The vampire interrupted her thoughts. "Do you still have some of those trash bags left? We're, uh, gonna need like two." He looked back at Hanna. "Maybe three."
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When they get out, Hanna adjusts his glasses to get a good look. It's much better than his apartment back home, much better than living in a truck, and as Maurice looks back at him, he flushes, thinking of the dirty clothes, trash, and all the other shit that has built up. They cleaned, kind of. Hanna did when he was getting up when Maurice was asleep during the day, dumping things in alleyway garbage bins, but...other times he was trying to keep himself clean, and his clothes so he didn't get complaints at work. That...was harder than cleaning the truck and took priority.
"Uh..." He manages, looking back at the truck again and moving to start gathering socks and underwear, sorting through with trash, some cranes he had folded from fast food wrappers, some he debated on keeping. Hopefully Meranda liked Origami.
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