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(Oh god Astral's going to be right there taking care of the kid and Simon doesn't have the strength to get his attention until Astral turns back with the child in his arms and then he's like "oh shit-' God that's not going to mess him up at all)
Astral came into the room, clicking his tongue to call the leopard.
"Here kitty, I've got your food," the god cooed, holding a plate of different cuts of meat.
((Especially when Simon isn’t responding anymore :) ))
Simon sat up some, looking at the leopard in his lap to see if they were going to actually go. He kind of didn’t want them to honestly.
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(Dear god that's going to fuck Astral up for goodness sake this isn't good at all)
(He's not going to be crying at all while he's trying to heal Simon up and not have him die)
The leopard shifted when Simon sat up, moving to get off his lap. The cat didn't go, though, just staying by Simon's feet as they licked their lips. Astral hummed, walking over.
"A-Ah," he said, pausing when he saw Simon and Mia.
Mia was not happy to see Astral, or the plate of meat. Who knew if Astral wasn't training the leopard to have a taste for human?!
(( >:) I have awoken and chosen violence.))
Simon let out a small sound of disappointment but was glad the leopard stayed nearby. “Hi.” Simon said, offering a small wave at Astral. Simon of course wasn’t as paranoid about the whole thing as Mia was, though maybe he should be, that would be something that Astral would do. He looked over at Mia, leaning over to grab her hand.
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(Dear god)
After the whole "feeding human meat to Simon" thing Astral pulled when the human first got here, nothing was off the menu. Thankfully, all the meat was in fact not human, so Simon and Mia were safe from the leopard trying to eat them.
Well, Simon was.
Astral offered a small wave in turn, not sure how to handle this. He moved to set the plate of meat down, the leopard moving from Simon's side to meet Astral halfway.
"Hi," Astral said in turn. Mia looked away, head on Simon's shoulder as she gave his hand a squeeze.
((I am very sorry but also not sorry lol))
Simon’s attention was now off of Astral and the leopard, and he focused on his friend, a bit of worry visible on his face as he wrapped an arm around her protectively. He didn’t think Astral would hurt her right now, but he knew the action would make her feel better.
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(XD)
Mia tucked herself against Simon, not saying a word. Astral knelt down, gently petting the leopard's head.
"Would it be better for me to leave?" He asked, looking up. He didn't want to ruin anything for the two, and he really had only come in to feed the leopard.
“Only once you’re done.” Simon said calmly. Like he’d said to Mia earlier, he didn’t want to start any fights with Astral. While the god was trying to improve himself, Simon intended on being perfectly cordial. Besides, then Astral could take the dish for them once the leopard was finished and it’d be one less thing for the two of them to have to clean up.
((Dang honestly Simon won’t want to let the baby out of his sight for a little while, because he’s afraid Astral will take them away, hide them somewhere, and never let Simon see them again))
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(That's gonna be complicated because for about the first three months Astral is literally never going to not be touching the child. He might let Simon hold them but he's gonna be terrified Mother's going to come and take them away so even when Simon has them he's gonna be touching them in some way)
Astral nodded, looking down at the leopard. He understood, that Simon wouldn't be upset at him constantly, but he still found it hard to be in the same area after the several months of not. He was expecting Simon to get upset at any moment, or decide it wasn't worth it and tell him to never come near them again.
Though, if anyone was close to that, it was Mia.
((Oof so basically this kid’s gonna be stuck with two very clingy and very paranoid parents.))
Simon went back to reading, hoping to be able to ignore the awkwardness that way. He wasn’t that surprised that he could manage to be in the same room as Astral. Practice makes perfect I guess. This wasn’t his first time being stuck with a guy he was afraid of. At least this time, Astral gave him space.
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(asdfghjk yeah I mean, they've got good reason to be-)
Astral stayed silent, hand gently petting the leopard's head as they ate. He didn't look over, either, waiting patiently for the big cat to finish before bending over to pick the empty plate up.
"Have a good day," he offered softly before turning to walk away.
“You too.” Simon replied, more out of habit than anything else, reaching his hand out to pet the leopard, trying to coax them back onto his lap.
((True-))
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Astral glanced back at that, with a hesitant, small smile, before leaving. The leopard licked their lips again, stretching before moving back over to Simon's side. They jumped up onto the couch, kneading it before laying down.
“Careful with the couch.” He said softly, even though he knew the leopard probably wouldn’t do anything. He started petting the big cat, leaning on them again.
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The leopard looked at Simon, then yawned again in his direction. Their breath still smelled like raw meat. They then rested their head in Simon's lap, tail flicking as they were pet.
Simon chuckled softly. “Okay then stinky.” He said, smiling softly as the leopard settled back down. He looked over at Mia. “Are you okay?” He asked.
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Mia slowly opened her eyes, pulling back from Simon's shoulder with a nod.
"He's gone, right?" She wrinkled her nose some at the leopard's breath, hands in her lap.
“Yeah he’s all gone. And that should be the last time we have to deal with him today, promise.” He reassured.
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"Okay…" Mia rested her head on Simon's shoulder again, letting out a soft breath. "That's good, at least. I really hate him…"
“I know, I’m sorry that he keeps coming around so much, I know it bothers you.” Simon himself didn’t really care, as long as Astral didn’t hurt them.
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"It's fine… I'm glad he's not just forcing us to try to go back to before." Mia closed her eyes, letting out a breath at the thought.
“Yeah me too…as long as he keeps giving us options, that’s pretty good.” Simon would be able to handle it if Astral had tried to just force them back in to normalcy, but that didn’t mean he would like it.
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"Mm…" Mia nodded some, her hand finding its way into Simon's. "I just… I want to get away from him."
He sighed softly, squeezing her hand. “Maybe we can someday.” He hoped he’d be able to do that for her, to convince Astral to just let her go, or at least give her somewhere to go where she’d be happier than she was here.
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"Maybe…" Mia squeezed Simon's hand in turn, pulling her legs close. Astral, wouldn't, of course. He would never let her go.
“We just gotta keep our hopes up, yeah?” He reassured, patting her leg gently. “Now then, back to reading we go? Or not yet?”
((I have once again realized what a good couple dynamic Simon and Astral would have if not for literally EVERYTHING))
((But I can’t wait until Astral tries to tell Simon he loves him and Simon’s just like “Haha why? Because I’m an easy victim is that it?”))
