Please, Take It.

~Part 4~ (Shawn🖌)

Without opening his eyes he sat up in his bed. The sheets were still somewhat made since when he arrived home he made no effort to untuck them and actually get into bed. Instead he flopped onto his bed, still dressed in his work clothes, and let the overwhelming feelings of the day finally wash over him. Letting them take him under into a deep restless sleep.

Running his fingers through his very sweaty hair he realized that he also didn't open the window. Unable to take the stuffiness of the room much more he forcibly got up from his bed and over to his bedroom window. It was a little resistant but he managed to get it open.

Greeted by a cool morning breeze he sat down on the floor and leaned against the windowsill to enjoy it. Getting lost in the sounds of the city below was a thing he enjoyed doing. The sounds of people greeting each other as they made their way to wherever they were going. The sound of rings bells on the doors of shops opening and closing. A newspaper boy calling out the morning headlines as loud as his lungs could to grab the attention of the businessmen rushing to work.

He wished that he could stay in his small loft all day. Drawing and painting whatever he wanted. Letting creativity lead him in any direction instead of working for a crazy, two bit, mediocre cartoonist. He'd even settle for teaching art. The thought of having students come up to him to say they forgot their homework or that they messed up on their painting had a smile creeping onto his face. But it soon faded.

He took a deep reluctant sigh. Sadly that wasn't something he could do right now. Right now he was a toy maker. It helped pay the bills.

'Toy maker'. The words in his head sounded the way Dark had said it when he questioned why the music director was looking for him. Lifting his head off the windowsill he grumbled, "So what if I'm a toy maker. People smile when they see my work. I bring a little spark of joy to them when they see a grinning bendy doll." Rolling his eyes he added, "Sure they don't know it's my work but I know it and that's enough."

He was about to add more to his list of validations when he heard light tapping on the fire escape outside his window. Lifting himself up a little to see what it was he was greeted by a familiar sight.

"Top of the mornin' to ya, Sam!" He reached out with his palm up and placed it on the fire escape, helping the creature up to the windowsill.

"Sorry I didn't open the window last night," he apologized as he gently placed him on the windowsill next to him. "Rough day."

As if it understood, the small gray rat with one eye squeaked at him. The rat had shown up a few days after he moved into the loft. It had frighted Shawn at first but after a few failed attempts at trapping him he decided to call a truce. He grew fond of the little guy. Shawn would sometimes leave little bits of cheese, bread, and vegetables on the inside of the windowsill for Sam to nibble on at night. For a city rat they were pretty small and tamed and Shawn wasn't about to get rid of the only decent company he could find outside the studio.

"How was ya night? Better than mine I hope." He used two fingers to gently pat the rat. It looked up at him as if to continue the conversation. "I had a rough one at work yesterday." Shawn paused to give Sam time to respond. "Remember that mysterious paintin' I told ya about?" Another pause, "Yeah, the one with the strange guy that came out of it."
If anyone else had seen him talking to the rat he knew he'd end up in a psych ward but it was therapeutic. Talking with Sam the rat was a way for him to vent calmly without judgement. Plus it was cheaper than an actual shrink.
"Well," he continued, "The guy that came out of it was super obnoxious. He not only insulted me but he split my whiskey out onto the floor. Can you believe that?"
Leaning away from the window he looked over to Sam, "What do you mean 'Is he cute'? What's that got to do with anythin'?"
Shawn could feel his cheeks warming up. "I- uh, sure. Yeah, he's not bad lookin'," he staggered. He relaxed against the windowsill again, looking down at the street and kept rambling. "He's got these dark mysterious eyes, ya know. He stares at me a lot but yeah, nice eyes. He's also got this jawline that Adonis himself would envy." He paused, mentally conjuring up an image of Dark to fully explain to Sam. At least that's what he convinced himself why he was doing it. "Lips that...," he gently touches his own lips remembering how Dark's lips had felt on his. The warmth that rushed through him, making him desire more and more of what Dark had to offer. He was starting to feel hot again.
The sound of little feet pattering away on the fire escape broke Shawn from his wandering mind.

"Hey wait!" He called after Sam but the rat was already crawling their way down. "Guess I should be gettin' ready for work anyways," he sighed as he lifted himself off the floor using the windowsill to help him. He left the window open as he got ready, allowing his room to air out a bit before he closed it up again.

Standing near the small kitchenette he listened to the kettle boil water for his morning coffee. He looked up at the clock and saw that if he didn't leave soon he was going to be really late for work.

'Would that be such a bad thing,' he asked himself. 'Ya know who is going to be waitin' for ya when ya get there.'
A debate began inside his head. Should he go? Should he stay home? Back and forth, his mind arguing with itself.

"Ahh!" He shouted out loud in frustration.
How had he allowed this person, that he hardly knew, to cause him such grief. Work was annoying at times but he still enjoyed going. At least he did before a certain someone showed up.
Slamming his fist against the counter he made a decision. He wasn't going to allow Dark to make him feel this way. Shawn knew that Dark had the ability to spell him, to force him to do what he wanted him to do. But somehow Shawn managed to break it. He knew that was one of the reasons that Dark kept looking at him like he was some strange exhibit. He had also called him unique. Shawn was going to show him how unique he could be. He didn't know much about what being Dark's companion entailed but he wasn't going to just sit around and let Dark bark out orders. He was a toy maker not a toy.

Pouring himself a mug full of coffee, he drank it leisurely. Running the conversation he planned on having with Dark in his head. He was pretty confident that he could sway things in his favor. Finishing the last of his coffee he walked over to his dresser and picked up his name tag and pinned it on his shirt.
"Ya got this, laddie." Encouraging himself out loud and giving his reflection a strong head nod.

Walking over to his window he took a deep breath of fresh air before closing and locking his window. He then headed towards the door grabbing his messenger bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and headed out the door to Joey Drew Studios.