insteadofwords | (no subject)

It's been a few days and Keys feel like he's at least sort of starting to settle in. His apartment is still pretty sparse, but he's bought a few things to make it feel cosier, more like his. He still misses his place in Seattle, misses how like him it had felt, but it's not like he can blame the apartment in Dimera for still feeling like it's someone else's, not when he's been in it for less than a week.

His wardrobe is also still feeling pretty basic. He'd bought a week's worth of plain t-shirts in black, white, navy, as well as a couple of pairs of jeans, a few sweaters, a hoodie, socks, boxers. His wardrobe in Seattle hadn't been anything to write home about, honestly, but there are a few things he'll miss. He found a decent pair of combat boots in an army surplus store, which helps with the weather.

He's met a few people so far but really the only person he can think of as a new friend is Rapunzel. She's been checking in regularly and he's thoroughly grateful every time his phone lights up with a text. They text a lot, not about anything in particular, and it's been pretty much the only thing that's stopped Keys from spiralling into just feeling desperately, completely alone.

When Rapunzel invited him over for dinner, Keys had a brief panic about what he should bring with him. His parents raised him to be polite, and he knows that it's good manners to not show up empty handed. So, when he shows up at her door, he's wearing the coat she helped him to buy, a hat pulled on over his hair, and he's got pie and he's got wine.

He's doing his best, anyway.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

fatesdesign

Keys' reaction to her food delights Rapunzel and she laughs happily at the noises that he makes, pressing her knee back against his. It's nice to share a meal with someone. She has her friends over as often as she can, but they have their own lives, and their own partners that they spend time with. Keys will eventually be the same, she supposes, but she'll enjoy it for now.

"Yeah, but I think that I'm better at baking," she tells him once she's swallowed a bite. "I really only ever had what Gothel brought me to occupy myself. Sometimes it was books, sometimes food, sometimes paints. She was gone a lot."

She smiles ruefully and sips from her wine again. It goes well with the chicken, she thinks, but she's not exactly an expert. Most wine just tastes like wine to her.

From:

insteadofwords

He can't imagine isolation like that, especially not for someone like Rapunzel, who's some warm, so vibrant, who so clearly comes alive in company. He can't imagine how lonely she must have been.

"I don't remember it ever being quiet when I was a kid," he says. "I might have been happy to trade with you." He takes another sip of his wine. "Or, at least, come and keep you company or something."

From:

fatesdesign

“You would have had to be very good at climbing,” she tells him, but it’s a very nice sentiment, one that she appreciates.

“The thing is, at the time, I didn’t know what I was missing.” Her brow furrows thoughtfully, nose scrunching. “I mean, I knew that there was more to life. I knew that I wanted to leave the tower, but I didn’t know just how bad it was.”

She takes another bite of her food mostly just to give herself a moment to try and get to the point.

“Things are better here,” she tells him finally. “I’d rather you visit me here. Here I’m not a victim, or a stolen princess. I’m just Rapunzel.”

From:

insteadofwords

"Well, I'm glad I met you hear then," says Keys, taking another bite of his food, washing it down with a sip of wine and then reaching for the bottle. "It's not the same, obviously, but my life had been kind of shitty for a while, honestly, before I washed up here."

Things were maybe starting to look into, but only if Milli and Guy had managed to stick it to Antwan.

From:

fatesdesign

“Everyone has their own version of shitty,” Rapunzel tells him with a sympathetic smile. She had a difficult life, but she certainly wouldn’t want anyone telling themselves that they couldn’t think the same because circumstances were different.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She sets her fork down to pick up her wine, looking at him curiously. “Were you not writing games back home?”

From:

insteadofwords

"Not for a while," says Keys, fiddling with his fork. "It's...kind of a long story, honestly. Filled with failed dreams, desperation and student debt." He remembers Mouser - that sounds horrible, boring, and full of white privilege. He huffs a laugh through his nose and takes a swallow of his wine, setting down his glass and then dropping his free hand to squeeze her knee under the table. "I don't want to bore you."

From:

fatesdesign

“Failed dreams?” Rapunzel picks up on that part easily, and her heart sinks a little. She’s such a firm believer in following your dreams, and she knows how hard it can be when they don’t turn out the way you plan.

She opens her mouth to reply, but pauses when Keys’ big hand settles on her knee under the table. It’s an innocent enough touch, but it takes her a little by surprise for some reason. Honestly, she can’t decide if she’s relieved or disappointed that she went with jeans instead of a dress.

“You don’t bore me,” she assures him, smiling warmly at him. “They’re your dreams. How could they be boring?”

From:

insteadofwords

His thumb grazes her knee-cap through the rough fabric of her jeans and then he takes his hand back, leaning his chin into it instead. "It's not the dreams that are boring, although, you haven't heard them, so reserve judgement." He smiles faintly. "It's what happened afterwards, I guess. What I let happen afterwards." He'd been such a coward. In his gut, he'd known that Millie was right, but they hadn't been able to prove it, and, in the end, it had been easier to just fold, to take the easy job in Cyber Security and not code and just...let that part of him die. Or try to, anyway.

From:

fatesdesign

"A person's dreams are their own. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of them," Rapunzel assures him. She thinks wistfully of the men she had met in that tavern back in Corona, hoping that they took her song to heart and followed their dreams.

Keys' face does something complicated, and Rapunzel sets down her fork to reach over and put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out the way that you planned, but maybe you can find a new dream? It's not too late."

From:

insteadofwords

She puts her hand on his arm, warm on his bare skin, and Keys feels his face flush a little. Hopefully, he can blame it on the wine.

"Yeah," he says. "You're right. I guess I can be anything I want to be here." He covers her hand with his and squeezes. "Tell me about your business."

From:

fatesdesign

"It may not be exactly ideal, but it is a fresh start," Rapunzel assures him, because she has a stubborn habit of always trying to see the bright side. She smiles at him and rubs her hand up and down his arm before letting go to pick up her fork again, taking a bite of food as she ponders her answer.

"It's something that's kind of evolved over the years," she explains after she's washed down her bite with a delicate sip of wine. "Like I said, I started making clothes for myself and a few friends, because the sorts of options we were used to weren't really available here. Then they told their friends, and I started taking commissions, which branched out to more modern styles as I learned about them. That's how it started, and it just kept growing and growing."

She's modest, but pleased with what she's created. "I started selling some pieces in a friend's store, but unfortunately he's no longer here. Not long ago, I opened my own shop. It's very small, but it has some workspace in the back so I don't have to have bolts of fabric taking over my whole apartment."

From:

insteadofwords

Now he's definitely blushing. He clears his throat and picks up his own fork, focusing on his food and what she's saying to him for a moment.

"That sounds great," he says. "I'll definitely be a future customer." He reaches for his glass. "How would you style me?"

From:

fatesdesign

Keys looks like she's blushing, but Rapunzel isn't sure why he would be. Perhaps it's the wine giving him such rosy cheeks.

"I'm a seamstress, not a stylist," she teases, laughing a bit before sitting back in her chair to look him up and down. "But judging by what I've seen you in, I would guess that you like more casual clothes. Maybe I'd put you in a sweater and slacks, rather than a suit. Something warm to bring out your eyes."

From:

insteadofwords

"You know what I mean," he says, smiling, sitting back to give her room to really look at him. "Sounds pretty much like what I used to wear to work. I don't mind a good suit, honestly. Just never really had much chance to wear to them back home."

From:

fatesdesign

"Then I'll need to make you a good suit," she decides, smiling happily at the thought. "There are parties here sometimes, like the extravagant balls I used to read about. The pictures that I showed you were from New Year's Eve. It was a lovely night."'

She eats the last of her chicken and washes it down with another sip of wine, feeling pleasantly full. "Usually there is something for Valentine's Day, but I'm not sure that would be enough time."

From:

insteadofwords

"That would be pretty rushed, yeah," he says, finishing his food and setting down his fork. "That was...thank you." He grins. "I think this is the most settled I've felt since I got here, honestly."

Sitting there with her, warm and comfortable and full, it's easy to forget that everything he's ever known is nowhere to be found.

From:

fatesdesign

"You're welcome anytime," Rapunzel assures him, but Keys is good company, and it's so nice to spend an evening with another person. Pascal is also wonderful company and she'd be utterly lost without him, but sometimes she just needs the companionship of another human being.

"Maybe I should get your measurements," she says as she looks him over again, suddenly wanting badly to know what one of her creations might look like on him. He has a similar body type to Peter, who she made so many things for, and while she knows the right thing to do would be to give them up so other people could get use out of them, but she can't bring herself to do it. They're all boxed up in the spare room, with a few pieces still in the closet alongside her dresses. "I do work very fast. Maybe I could whip something up."

From:

insteadofwords

"That would be deeply cool," he says, draining his wine glass and setting it down. "But I also really don't want to be a pain in your ass, so. Whatever you think, I guess. There might be a party for Valentines Day, but I think it's pretty unlikely I'm going to have a date, so."

From:

fatesdesign

“No promises, but I’ll see what I can do,” Rapunzel tells him as she reaches for the wine. There’s only a little left, so she pours a bit into each of their glasses and sets the empty bottle down.

“I won’t either.” She smiles a little wistfully and then takes a sip from her glass. “But you don’t have to have a date to go.”

From:

insteadofwords

"Well, if neither of us have a date, we can go together?" he says. As soon as it's out of his mouth, he wonders if he's misspoken, when she just mentioned her ex, who hasn't even been gone for a year. He reaches for his glass again, taking a sip. He likes Rapunzel, already likes spending time with her, but how much of that is the loneliness of being dropped a world away from anything he's ever known?

From:

fatesdesign

At the question, Rapunzel looks over at Keys with mild surprise. She hadn’t really been expecting that, but she doesn’t think that he means it like a date. He’s still so new, and Rapunzel has been showing him the ropes so far. Why not at a party, too?

“Sure, we could do that,” she says with a smile, nodding a little. “It’d be a good opportunity to introduce you to people like us. People that were brought to Darrow, I mean. Most of the locals are lovely, but they all seem to think this place is just a normal city.”

From:

insteadofwords

"It's going to get really tedious for you if you remain the only person I really know," says Keys, fiddling with his wine glass, idly wishing he'd thought to bring two bottles. "I have met a couple of people who live in my building. Oh, and there's apparently a guy who looks just like me? His girlfriend was pretty embarrassed when she kissed me by accident."

From:

fatesdesign

“Oh, I’m sure that I won’t be for long,” Rapunzel assures him as she stands up and gathers their plates. Keys seems like a good guy, if maybe a little shy, but she can’t imagine that he’ll have too hard of a time meeting people.

His story makes Rapunzel giggle in delight, nose scrunching, and she keeps on laughing as she takes the plates into the kitchen. She made a cake for dessert, but she grabs some plates and Keys’ pie instead, since he was thoughtful enough to bring it.

“Here for less than a day and already kissing girls,” she teases, thinking that it might make him blush. “Do you want something else to drink? I could open another bottle of wine.”

From:

insteadofwords

Keys drains what's left of his wine and then looks at the empty glass thoughtfully. "I don't have to drive or anything so, if you're happy for me to stay for a while longer, that would be great." She giggles and it's kind of amazing, actually. He does blush when she teases him, but he's smiling, too.

"And she absolutely kissed me," he says. "I'm a totally innocent party here."

From:

fatesdesign

"Well, you can't just eat and run," she teases, ruffling his hair again before heading back to the kitchen. She doesn't have a lot of wine on hand, but she does have a bottle of sparkling that she's been meaning to try, so she carefully pops the cork and brings it out to the table, pouring them each a glass before sitting back down.

"That's very funny," she admits, laughing again as she cuts and serves them each a small piece of pie. "I have someone who looks just like me too, apparently. Aside from the hair, of course. Hers is a reasonable length."