Dents

[+] Don't Get Lost In Heaven

Rays of morning sunlight shimmered through the kitchen windows. The room took on a fuzzy atmosphere.

The scent of charred bacon was overbearing. The smoke residue of burnt pan grease left faint speckles of black soot floating like dust motes in the air. Beneath my feet, the laminate floors were sticky to the touch. Our stovetop hadn't been replaced since at least the seventies, and the skillet I was using was perhaps older than that. 

I gazed fixedly at the charcoaled bits of meat sizzling in the cast iron. A small flame had begun to burn on the rim, the result of a decade's worth of gunk left uncleaned.

It didn't take long for the five of us to undo the work Noodle and I accomplished when we straightened up the place. Newspapers were strewn haphazardly over the dining table, cigarette butts had been crushed on the floor, and 2D's dirty sneakers sat in a pile of cobwebs in the corner.

I didn't mind it too much.

I did find the house arrest situation increasingly tiresome, however. On top of that, I had been thinking of my past a lot. I felt rotten, like I was being dishonest with 2D about who I really was. It was a thought that preoccupied me more than ever. 

The pan I was holding erupted into flames.

"'Aye, Saoirse... Uh, I fink et's done."

2D's utterance drew me out of my hazy state. I panicked. Turning off the burner, I flipped the bacon onto a stack of paper towels and tossed the pan into the sink. The remnants of meat could easily have been mistaken for dog kibble.

So much for helping with breakfast, I thought.

I was distracted from my failure by 2D cuddling up to me from behind. He rested his head on my shoulder and his hands on my hips. His palms were damp. Whether it was from the dishes or his nerves, I wasn't sure.

"Sorry," he whispered. His breath smelled of coffee and caramel.

"Yew're jus' so damn cute. I can't help et."

I blushed, stretching my arms back enough to play with his hair. He looked a mess. I loved it. There was something particularly adorable about him when he was in his pajamas with his hair all frazzled. He wore a big cheesy grin.

He was missing anywhere between three and five teeth by that point. While his dental hygiene was adequate, his genetics were not. Maybe it was crazy of me to think so, but I still found him to be incredibly charming. 

"I love you, 'D."

"Don't I know et," he chimed, twirling around me with a piece of toast hanging from his mouth. He audibly gulped, having barely chewed the piece at all.

"I luv yew too."

He kicked a chair out from the table. With a huff he plopped upon it and leaned back, balancing the chair on its rear legs. I was uneasy at the sight. When Murdoc eventually came up from the studio stairwell, I was practically overwrought with anxiety.

To my surprise, he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to humiliate 2D that had been so glaringly offered to him. He acknowledged the both of us with a tilt of his head and meandered toward his dungeon.

I jogged after him and grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait. Come have breakfast with us."

I didn't know what had gotten in to me. To my bewilderment, 2D had a smile stretched so wide it probably hurt. I was skeptical about such a look. It was unlike him to want to spend a spare moment in Murdoc's vicinity. Our company warranted that I didn't ask about it, however.