overmore's fics

When she came back home, there was something off about it. Ann couldn’t point out exactly right away, but Galatea had done something to it. She just couldn’t point it out right away.

Not that this was much of a problem. She was used to Galatea’s sudden decisions to change things around, this was inevitable to happen. This time, however, was noticeable, even if only on an assumption level. Just what was it this time?

Hearing the wheelchair move, Ann turned towards the living room entrance from the back of the house. She must have been in the garden.

“Welcome home, what'd you get? Tell me it's not just groceries please!” She liked sweets and food that tasted nicely, which in her opinion, wasn't what most food was. Ann would always get her something more as she knew nothing good would come out of making her sad over it.

“I did. What did you do with the room? Something seems off, but I can't figure out what you did.” Ann wasn't the most detailed person when it came to decor, unlike Galatea. She wasn't upset that the other had problems with this, she was rather patient with it too.

“Do you ever look down?”

A clue rather than saying it out loud, rather usual. At least it was helping her a bit. Galatea understood it was a bit harder for her to get things like these, but she’d still try her best and hit stuff before outright saying it. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn’t.

Ann looked around, specifically down. She then noticed it.

“Where did you get this rug?”

“The other day! One of the neighbours made it! The one that sells rugs. I thought it was very pretty, so I got it! You were away, so I just put it in the back until today. Couldn’t put it in before since it is hard to do things on some days, so I just left it for when I was feeling better!”

The rug was quite colorful, it was a surprise she didn’t notice it at first. The house was already filled with color, and while Ann wasn’t used to it still, it should’ve been obvious that something had changed. They didn’t have a rug before, it was easier to maintain the house without one.

“You know, you could’ve asked me to help you with that,” she said. “You had to move around the furniture a lot to get this placed.”

The chair and the table were a bit off too, now that she looked at it carefully. She must’ve struggled to move those.

“I don’t mind doing things on my own, you know that.” Galatea was always trying to be the one to do things on her own, in many different ways. Even if it was harder for her.

“I think it’s better that I do think on my own like this!”

Ann chuckled. “It is nice, yes.” At least she knew she probably shouldn’t worry too9 much about her.

“But that table isn’t very even now. I’ll have to move it around.”

“I didn’t say I knew how to do this perfectly.”

“Neither did I say you have to. Will still show you how to do it better though.”

At least they could relax a bit after this. And Ann was glad Galatea seemed to enjoy taking care of the house enough to do heavy things on her own.

The darkness was still present when the boy woke up. It was past six at least, he couldn't tell by the clock but with the sky still dark it had to be. He gripped the blanket, cold on the outside, his fingers gripping into the fabric. It made a small sound, barely audible, but it filled parts of the silent room. Looking away from the window, Aesop turned around in bed, facing the person next to him.

Joseph still slept. It wouldn't be until at least seven that he'd need to wake up. A professor, “tyrant” as older students called him. Aesop didn't really understand that, but he was also younger. The academy part of the school had many different classes than his part. They were tucked on the side, a small number of younger students like him having the privilege to study in a place like this. He didn't even know how he was allowed to be here sometimes. Due to their age, more appropriate classes were held for them. Joseph normally taught Latin, but to him, he was a photography teacher who was a very nice person.

Aesop looked at the teacher’s soft face. He was always so good looking when sleeping. He'd done this before, he came to his room on a day he knew nothing important was happening for both of them and he'd cuddle up in the evening, staying there until morning.

He didn't know how it started. Joseph was just always nice to him. When other children made fun of him, he would protect the boy, showing the bit of the so-called “tyrant” the older kids mentioned. But that had nothing to do with their studies, so Aesop couldn't take that as some part of his personality or something he was always. Joseph was just kind to him and protected him.

The professor never did anything Aesop would consider wrong or bad. The only thing he never truly liked is that no one was allowed to know about them. It was a bit puzzling to the boy, especially due to the fact that Joseph made him so happy and he wanted at least his mother to know about this. This became less of an issue as time went on, as he knew one day he’d be able to tell her there was someone he loved that much.

He felt moving on the other side of the bed. The other must’ve woken up.

Joseph looked a bit odd sometimes when looking at him like that, Aesop used to the glasses the man wore all the time. He’d only see him without it like this, it was kind of special when he thought about it more. No one else got to see him like that.

“Good morning,” the boy shyly said. He was still a bit confused on what he was supposed to do like this, even after many times.

“Good morning, my boy.”

Joseph’s hand gently glided over his hair, ruffling it. It was a pleasant motion, his hands then sliding down to pull Aesop closer.

“Did you sleep well?”

The boy nodded. “I just woke up. Did you sleep well?”

Aesop pushed himself forward, nuzzling more into him. The sleepwear they had was warm. With winter at its peak now, Aesop was starting to get cold, with his clothes not being the best for this time of the year. There wasn’t much he or his mother could do about it, so at some point, Joseph got him some warm sleepwear. The school uniforms were fine during the day, but the night was a problem.

“Yes. You woke up a bit early. Are you cold?”

“No, I’m very warm like this. I like it a lot. The pyjamas are very warm.”

Joseph chuckled at his comment. “I’m glad they are. Would you like me to get you more of them? It’s not good to only have one pair.”

He was always too nice. Aesop sometimes didn’t know how to repay him for the things he did.

“That would be nice, yes.”

He loved looking at now the man smiled at him. “Can you turn around for me?”

Aesop knew what that meant, the boy happily mowing around, his back now facing Joseph. The man then hugged the boy from behind, as if devouring Aesop due to him being much taller. It made the boy even warmer, so the position was nice in his mind.

“When can I do things for you,” the boy asked. There was little he could do, considering he never had much money. His mother would send him some every week, but most of that went on food or school supplies, so he could never have much if he wanted to get something for Joseph.

“You know I don’t need you doing things for me boy.” Joseph was as nice as ever, not wanting the boy to dress out at all. “You know what’s enough for me? You being here and spending time with me like this is enough. Don’t worry about other things, there will be a time when you’ll be able to do that.”

The tight grip he had around Aesop did seem to comfort the boy on his doubts enough to not think about this anymore.

“Still sleepy?”

Aesop could feel that his eyes were closing again. Maybe he could use some more sleep, especially on days like these when it was cold. Staying in the warm bed was much more comfortable in the end.

“Mhm.”

“I’ll let you sleep more then. I’ll stay with you too.”

The boy didn’t have much else to say, so he just gently put his hands around Joseph’s arm that was holding onto him. It was his way of making sure the older man would keep his promise.

By the time he was awake, the Sun was already up and Joseph was still with him. He kept true to his promise and didn’t leave his side, so it made him happy. It was good to keep promises. This also meant that Aesop had to keep the other one, making sure to be able to do something for Joseph when he was a bit older.