Toyger: After Hours (closed to joining)

TJ honestly hadn’t considered what he wanted to do yet. Sure there was that one bar but he wasn’t really feeling it, both because he was like, 90% certain it was a gay bar and while he wasn’t opposed to hitting it up with some fine gentlemen, that wasn’t really the point of this hangout with Val...plus it would be a little awkward to flirt with Val around, and also, going to a bar and getting a drink was what he did with Thacker and while he liked the guy well enough, he didn’t want to recycle “work friend” activities with someone else.

So that meant that the bar was out of the question.

Letting out a thoughtful hum, TJ distracted himself by petting Cleo, going over other potential fun ideas that they could do together. “Well, I don’t know a whole lot about what’s around here, so I can’t be too much help there...” He started, his voice trailing off as a thought came to him and his eyes lit up with excitement as he looked back over at Val with a large grin plastered across his face.

“Hey! Is there an arcade around here anywhere?”

Arcades were right up his alley, plus it wasn’t too late so there had to be at least one that was still open right now.

A smile pulled at Grace’s lips when she heard that her friend had been doing fine. That was always a good thing. She did find it a bit disappointing that there didn’t seem to be anything too exciting happening where Callie worked. She had to admit that she enjoyed listening to the stories that could come out of that place, but it seemed like that during even a “dry spell” for them there was still something or another going on. ”A bet on arrests and aggressive donut asking? If you just told people that’s what happened at work then nobody would believe you’re a detective,” she pointed out with a laugh behind her words, clearly not saying that to be offensive. What really caught her attention, though, was when Callie mentioned a new guy.

Grace tipped her head to the side in question. She cast a curious look toward Callie. ”A new guy? I bet he has that new guy attractiveness, doesn’t he?” She leaned over just a bit and playfully nudged her friend.

When asked about how work was going for her and how her brother was doing, Grace took a moment to take a sip of her own drink that had just gotten to her. ”Pretty boring when compared to yours,” she answered, a laugh still in her words. Don’t get her wrong, she loved doing what she did, but hair and makeup just didn’t compare to everything she heard about Callie’s job. ”And Noah’s been doing well. He’s mentioned a few times getting a puppy, and he has no impulse control so he’s probably going to end up with a second dog.” There wouldn’t be anything wrong with that. Despite everything Noah was an amazing dog owner, and his current dog, Blitz, was a very well behaved boy and Grace was sure Noah would teach any dog of his to have the same manners.

At Dorothy’s threat, Boston Waldo let out a bemused laugh and quickly drank more of the smoothie, as if trying to down all of it before Dorothy could snatch it up again. The fruity, citrusy flavors burst in his mouth and Boston Waldo was once again reminded of how much he really did like smoothies, they were nice, especially when you wanted something cold but not brain freeze cold, at least...he hadn’t ever gotten a brain freeze from a smoothie before, but maybe somehow else had.

Plus, smoothies could be dairy free, which was a bonus since he and his dad were both lactose intolerant, so there was no ice cream in his future, which was sad because apparently ice cream tasted really great, but honestly? Boston Waldo was plenty content with his smoothies and other such treats that didn’t necessarily require dairy.

Finishing his drink for now - there was more smoothie left, Boston Waldo was just taking a little break - the young Walters boy turned his attention to his friends, nodding his head slightly as Antoine talked to let him know that he was paying attention.

“A fort sounds fun, I vote we build a fort and then play a game inside the fort,” Boston Waldo suggested. “We could make a really cool fort too, and give it a name like...like...Killer Explosion!” Boston Waldo exclaimed in his excitement, lifting his hands in the air to wave them around to physically show his excitement before he lowered them back down.

Killer Explosion just seemed like a really cool name for a fort.

Was trying all three of them the wrong thing to do? Norman had offered them all up, so Time had only assumed it was all okay no matter what combination he decided to go with.

Calm down, Time, it’s okay. It’s okay to go all the way in, he told himself before finally taking a quick second to breathe and take it easy. Norman was just trying to start up a conversation. There was nothing hidden to his comments there. ”Yeah, but I think I like the idea of going all in. I don’t want to leave anything out.”

When Norman put down the plate in front of him, Time looked it over for a moment with his mix-matched gaze. It looked good. Though the more he looked at it the more it all kind of looked like bloody intestines with the noodles and sauce, then the cheese added to it kinda looked like sinewy strands of fat. Time had watched Norman make the spaghetti for the most part so he knew Norman didn’t just go out, slice somebody open, and harvest their intestines, but that didn’t make the spaghetti look anything less like cooked, harvested organs.

Trying his best to push those thoughts away, Time mixed everything together, which didn’t really help with his thoughts since even the sound it made kind of sounded like squishy intestines.

He really needed to stop thinking about intestines right now. He already knew he couldn’t stomach them, and he really didn’t want to ruin his first spaghetti experience with some bad memories.

Finally getting his thoughts under control just enough, Time scooped up some of the spaghetti noodles onto his fork and took a bite. It...it wasn’t the best, but if anything it was better than just a simple sandwich. ”It’s better than a sandwich,” he commented after swallowing his first bite. It wasn’t just out of the world amazing, but he was going to eat it. Honestly, he’d probably like it better if it didn’t look so much like intestines.

Even if the spaghetti continued to remind Time of bloody intestines, he managed to keep eating. It wasn't bad, and he hadn't lied when he said it tasted better than a sandwich, but it wasn't like it was the best thing he had ever eaten, either. He was going to finish what was on his plate to not be rude. Plus, he hadn't had an actual meal in a long time. He wasn't about to waste this chance at getting an actual full stomach.

Looking up from his plate as Norman spoke up, Time listened to what the other man had to say. He nodded along to show he was listening and trying to keep track of everything being said. "I'll keep all that in mind, thanks." Time couldn't begin to explain how grateful he was for Norman's help and his willingness to just let Time stay at his house for a while. Not many people would do something like that, especially for a straight up stranger they had met the night before.

After taking a few more bites of his spaghetti, Time glanced back up at Norman. "Thanks for doing all this for me. I...I can't really put into words how grateful I am. You really didn't have to do any of this." Seriously, this was more than Time could have ever asked for, and if there was ever any way he could repay Norman back at some point then he was going to do that and more.

Silence wasn’t a good thing. Had he said something wrong? Was he not meant to thank Norman? Time wasn’t sure why that would be the case if it was. He honestly felt incredibly thankful for what the other man had done for him. It meant more than a lot, and without Norman’s help Time would be out there right now struggling to find a place to stay for the night.

Now worried he had said the wrong thing somehow, Time found it a bit hard to eat the rest of his spaghetti. He managed to get down most of it, but there was no way he was going to be able to finish wha was all on his plate.

Once he had eaten all he could, he followed suit with Norman, bringing his plate back to the kitchen. He was relieved to hear when Norman finally spoke up, the worry about messing up dissolving. ”If anybody with a half decent heart would have done this for me then I’d have a place to stay way before now. I wouldn’t have been at the bar at all.” Not that he had hated that experience entirely, that’s how he had met Norman in the first place and he didn’t regret that, but it was an experience he’d like to mostly forget if he could.

"Stubborn or not, if just anybody would have helped me, I wouldn't be here now. I would have at least been given some food or money for a night at a room somewhere or something." Time wasn't that stubborn of a person, but he wasn't going to stand there and just let Norman think he could wave off the gratitude Time felt. This really did mean a lot to him, and he wanted to make sure Norman was aware of that.

All that aside, though, Time was curious about how the couch worked. Since that was going to be his bed for...for however long he was here, it was important to know just how it worked. Since it was a couch he doubted it would be that difficult, and as he watched Norman give the demonstration on how it worked, he was proven right in his assumption.

Time nodded toward the couch. "Simple enough, thanks for showing me." He then leaned forward and placed a hand on the couch. "It's really soft, too. I mean, I knew it was going to be the most comfortable place I've slept on in a while, but..." He trailed off there, looking back over at Norman for a moment.

Even if Norman didn’t think the couch was all that comfortable, Time thought it was. Maybe it just because he had slept at a bar the night before, and before all of that he had been sleeping just anywhere he could find. This was the first time in a long while he was sleeping somewhere that it wasn’t illegal. This was probably the first time since...since he was born that he wasn’t doing something illegal or around something that was illegal. He highly doubted anything illegal would be going on here. Norman had told him he was a detective and all, and while there could be some shady law enforcers out there Time got a feeling that wasn’t the case with Norman.

Now that he had showered and eaten, there didn’t seem to be much else to do. He could try and sleep, but he felt a bit awkward at the idea of telling Norman to leave his own living room. Instead he found something else to say, and he hoped it didn’t convey just how awkward he was feeling. ”I know I keep saying this, but thanks again for everything. And, you know, just because I’m in here doesn’t mean you have to worry about disturbing me or waking me up if I’m asleep. It’s your house, and I respect that.”

It was pretty clear by now that Norman didn’t want the thanks Time kept giving him. Even if he didn’t want it he was still going to give it, just probably not verbally anymore. Time didn’t know how he would express it in other ways just yet, but he’d find a way. He was determined to do so if anything.

Saving those thoughts for later Time pushed them to the back of his mind for now. Right yeah, it was probably best for Norman to see himself off before things got even more awkward. Hopefully things would be less so in the morning.

He nodded in acknowledgement of Norman’s words. ”Yeah, I’ll probably try to get some sleep.” It probably wouldn’t be hard for him to do so since he would be sleeping on something he found to be extra comfortable for once even if it was just a couch bed. ”Goodnight,” he murmured, feeling like that was needed even if Norman had mentioned typically being awake through the night.

It wasn’t unusual for Time to wake up at various times throughout the night. Considering he usually relied on illegal methods to find a place to sleep, he was always on edge and ready to ditch any place if he was found. He’d rather just run than try and explain his situation - running was easier than explaining for some reason.

A few times he woke up throughout the night but managed to fall back asleep. This instance, though, that wasn’t the case. His body must have reached the limit of sleep because this time around he wasn’t able to get himself back to sleep, and now that he was more awake he was certain he could hear something coming from the kitchen.

At first he felt an inkling of panic rise up inside him. His first thought was that somebody broke in or something along those lines, but it wasn’t long that he remembered Norman telling him that he was typically awake throughout the night so it was safe to assume that it was just Norman.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore at the moment, Time got up from the couch and carefully made his way over to the kitchen. ”Norman?” He called out slowly, hoping it really was just him in there.

Boston Waldo grinned at the rather positive feedback he got for his idea. Okay so it looked like it was fort building time, and that was something Boston Waldo was very excited for, even if he still felt a little bad for messing up a place that was as fancy as this. It was different at home, his home was basically a constant pillow fort that only occasionally got taken down when they were having like, actual company.

So people besides his uncles and cousins.

They didn’t count.

They practically lived there themselves and could just live in the pillow fortress like Boston Waldo and his dad did.

But still, if the whole pillow fort idea was okay with Jules, they might as well take advantage of it, especially since Boston Waldo was certain they could make an amazing pillow fort in a place this big.

Starting to follow Antoine, Boston Waldo paused to hurriedly drink the rest of his smoothie, so he could really focus on the fort once they got down to it.

He made it about half way through his smoothie before getting hit with what he could only describe as a devastating brain freeze.

“Ack! Brain freeze!” Boston Waldo got out, closing his eyes and scrunching up his face until it had passed.

Then, as soon as it had stopped, he drank the rest of his smoothie and proceeded to give himself another brain freeze.

He probably should’ve thought this through a little more.

Waiting until the second brain freeze passed, Boston Waldo tried to remember where the trash was here, so he could throw away the smoothie cup, then afterwards, he could go help Antoine and Dorothy with the pillow fort.

Even though the first cat was still right there on his lap, N couldn’t help but give a good chunk of his attention over to the new cat that had padded over to receive some attention from Aria. He smiled over at the feline while petting the top of the cat’s head that was already in his lap. Perhaps they would get more cats to come over to them. That would be really nice.

That smile was then brought over to Aria as she spoke up again. ”Exactly. You’ll get to meet him then.” Assuming he wasn’t out on a case when she showed up, but surely she’d stay long enough to see him come back. ”He’s also Jules’s new partner,” N added, figuring he should let Aria know what was up there. While he didn’t say it out loud, he did inwardly hope that this time Jules would get to keep TJ around as his partner for a long while. It was about time that he got to have somebody around for a good while.