( Thread | Darrius. ) - Blog Posts

Giving him a little nod that he had it right, Leyla offered a little smile with the finished result. It was already making their home feel cozier, which wasn't something she was used to...but she was getting there. She'd never experienced home in this way before, and it was foreign but warm. The ice around her seemed to melt in this space, as strange as that sounded. Placing the sheet of seeds into the oven as instructed, she listened as he talked a bit about his childhood. It sounded a bit like a movie or 60's TV show. She could just imagine a tinier Dare running around with his siblings and a warm-hearted mother figure gathering them up for holiday festivities. "It felt very much like you," she mused, "what are some other traditions from your mom?"

Seeing her gesture, Darrius stepped the tiniest bit to the side, glancing back up to see if he had it right, and then carefully securied it where it needed to be, stepping back to admire his handy work. Sure, it was a simple garland. Yes, it was probably laughable to most people who went all out for Halloween. But to Darrius, who liked the pumpkins and leaves and corn stalks and watching Casper and Hocus Pocus and The Great Pumpkin… it made him feel good. Turning back to the kitchen, he looked at the seeds that she spread out, and nodded his head, "looks great! I already set the oven, so we should just be able to pop 'em in and let them do their thing," and then they would have a tasty snack when their other housemates arrived home. "I do! My mom taught me how, she'd always make me and my siblings save our pumpkin guts just so we could make these."

Leyla had lived alone before this in a New York apartment and saw very little reason to decorate for her eyes only. It just felt silly and not at all worth the effort. However, she wasn't alone this year. Decorating with Darrius gave her something to do that wasn't work, therapy, or...work. Despite herself, she actually found herself having fun. "They're...coming," she murmured as she checked back on her phone for reference before looking up and giving a little motion to move the side he was holding up a little. "Almost." She was a bit of a perfectionist, most probably wouldn't notice but it was uneven enough to bother her the entire season if she didn't say something. "Do you usually make these for this time of year?" She asked as she spread the pumpkin seeds a little more.

WHO: Darrius & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: home on the coast

WHEN: September, 2023

The house was going to look good; it was Darrius's first major holiday living in a house where there was enough room to decorate, where he didn't have to worry about the dogs running into a tree in this corner or something taking up too much walking space. No, this year he had a house, a home, and most importantly, he had friends to decorate it with. Looking over at Leyla as he stretched up to attach one of the garland ends to the doorway, he nodded his head towards the tray of pumpkin seeds. "How are those coming? I've almost got this hung, I think, if it looks okay to you?"

"You're welcome," she said softly, "I actually picked this up at What's The Tea recently. Their tea is really fantastic." Watching as he grabbed a fork for his fruit, she then placed the teapot on the stove to heat the water. "I'm the employee I have to tell to go home," she offered with a bit of a laugh, "and still keep working." She had always been bad about giving up control, still trying to do absolutely everything herself. "I always liked school--well, the work part anyway." She was about to ask about the fun of lesson planning when he answered that himself. "Words easily blend together after a while, right?" She perked up at the mention of the dogs, her favorite roommates in all honesty. "If you ever need help with them, someone to check on them while you're in class or something, I love dogs."

"Thanks," he offered her a bright smile in return, before locating a fork, deciding not to be a total barbarian that afternoon and picking at the fruit in the bowl, chewing through a piece of pineapple thoughtfully. "Makes sense. You're your own boss, and you best employee, right?" Unless she had someone else who did the dirty work! And even then, she probably still deserved a raise. "I do, at the community college," he nodded. "This is the time of year where I start gearing up to teach again, hence the snack break. Lesson plans are only fun for so long," which could be sad about any type of work, he was sure. "That, and I gotta take the dogs out in a few."

Leyla kind of wondered if Darrius was bothered at all by a house full of women, whether he hoped a guy would take the free room and make it even. He'd never given off that impression though, so she hoped that meant he didn't mind it. "Coming right up," she replied, a hint of a grin back. It was easier to keep people at a distance in New York, but she was going to have a harder time here. Still, there was something warm about Darrius that made it easy to feel comfortable. "Always," she half-joked, "entrepreneurs can't really keep regular hours. You teach, right? So I guess you know a little about that too, huh?"

Darrius's living situation had been a bit of a whirlwind throughout the course of his life. Growing up with siblings, sharing bedrooms, and then living on his own when he moved to Michigan… only to come home to that childhood bedroom all over again. Then his own apartment in Merrock, and now a home. With three women, granted, but he had come to love that. Especially when they offered to make him tea. "I'll take some, yeah," he smiled, having chosen a small bowl of fruit that he had cut up a couple of days ago. Turning towards the island in the middle of the kitchen, he popped a grape in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before speaking. "Were you working?"

Part of Leyla had wanted to get a place on her own, close herself off completely at the end of a long day. No one to tell her when she needed to stop working sounded divine. But she had learned the importance of coming into the light, and so she made the choice to surround herself with people. Bleary-eyed from looking at the numbers from the weekend on her laptop, she went to make herself some tea. The 'hmm' reached her ears before she realized anyone was in here. "Tea," she corrected as she grabbed her teapot and began to fill it with water, "lavender to relax. Would you like some to go with your snack?"

WHO: Darrius & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: home; coastal area

WHEN: August, 2023

School would be starting soon, and although Darrius loved teaching at the community center, he absolutely dreaded the last few weeks before the first day. Sure, he could play it cool and say that he loved coming up with lesson plans and deciding what they would learn and when and why and how, but there was that extra layer of stress that sometimes led to him needing some sort of sweet treat. That was why he found himself with his head in the fridge, sorting through jars of this and that, and letting out a 'hmm,' only righting himself when he heard someone else enter the kitchen. "Are you looking for a snack, too?"