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It had been a confusing day for Ted. One minute he had been having a conversation with schlatt, talking about something he couldn’t remember now, and the next he had been holding a grown man as he sobbed into his arms about god-knows-what. After maybe 5 minutes of gentle persuading he had managed to move schlatt so his face wasn’t entirely buried into Ted’s sweatshirt (he’ll have to wash it, he thinks off-handedly, but that’s a thought for later) and try to gauge what had happened. Schlatt looked… like shit, to be honest. He had been crying so much that his face was red and puffy and he had managed to smear snot over a good portion of the lower half of his face.
Ted fetches a box of tissues he keeps on the coffee table and offers them up, but Schlatt just looks lost. “For your face,” he offers uselessly and schlatt makes a face and takes one, clumsily wiping at his eyes and nose. “What happened, man?” It’s all he can think to ask really, but apparently it wasn’t the right thing to ask because he watches as schlatt starts up crying again. At this point he’s freaking out, because he’s never seen him act like this before. He’s never even seen him cry, let alone sobbing and whining like a kid. Schlatt reaches forward, arms outstretched, and makes a high pitched noise that Ted takes as something like a ‘please.’ It’s awkward trying to hug on the couch with the way they’re sitting, but Schlatt seems to have no problem with it as he tries his best to manoeuvre his way into Ted’s personal space.
This time, he makes sure not to ask any questions as he grabs the box of tissues again. Schlatt is plastered to his torso, arms wrapped tight around his middle and face tucked into the crook of his neck, and as he takes out a tissue he uses his other hand to pull Schlatt’s head back a little. Ted freezes up and goes to apologise, but Schlatt seemingly has no issue with it as he goes willingly with teds hand. He holds the tissue in front of schlatts face. He makes no moves. Tentatively, Ted reaches forward and dabs at his cheeks. Quite surprisingly (or unsurprisingly given todays circumstances) schlatt doesn’t protest, just closes his eyes and stills a little, leaning into the hand Ted still has on the back of his head. That’s all the confirmation Ted needs, and he’s quickly wiping down Schlatts face, being careful to be gentle where his nose and eyes were irritated. It’s intimate, really, the way Ted clears the tear tracks off of his cheeks. He can’t quite get the dry bits, he’ll have to fetch a washcloth for those, but he tries his level best. It doesn’t take long for him to notice how peaceful schlatt looks, seemingly sleepy as his head gets heavier in teds hand, his mouth parted so he can breathe through it because his nose is still blocked from the tears. He must’ve cried himself out, thinks Ted absentmindedly.
“Hey bud,” he whispers, trying not to cause any more upsets. Schlatt looks at him with drooping eyelids, blinking slowly like he can’t quite keep his eyes open. “How about you go up to your room and have a nap?” A slow nod, but yet again no moves are made. Ted chuckles lightly, combing his hand through schlatts hair. “You’ll have to get up, dude, the bed won’t come to you,” all he gets in response is a little ‘hmph’ noise, and then Schlatt is picking himself up and rubbing at his eyes. He has his legs folded underneath him, and when he goes to get up he seems to struggle getting his feet out from under him and onto the ground. When he stands he sways a little, and Ted is quick to step beside him just in case. He knows realistically that schlatt probably won’t fall, but with the way he’s acting he’s not so sure. The trip upstairs is slow and a little treacherous, because Schlatt seems intent on falling asleep standing up and Ted is intent on not letting him fall down a flight of stairs.
Eventually they find their way to the guest room, where schlatt swerves around the bed and moves straight towards his luggage. Ted pulls back the covers for him, because he’s not entirely sure what to do right now, and when he looks up Schlatt has fetched a stuffed bunny from his bags. Ted lets out a small laugh, quickly explaining that no he wasn’t laughing at him, it’s just that he used to have a stuffed animal that looked really similar, I promise when he sees schlatts eyes go wide and his bottom lip start to quiver. “How about that nap?” He asks right as schlatt yawns, and he laughs a little as schlatt moves to the bed and lays down. He’s not sure why, and he certainly doesn’t want to examine why, but he pulls the covers over schlatt for him and checks that he’s all tucked in. For a moment he feels weird about it, before seeing the small smile peeking over the edge of the covers. He returns it and pauses for a moment, not sure what to say. “Sleep well, Schlatt,” he decides on as he turns to leave. There’s a small noise from Schlatts tucked-in form, and he comes back over only to hear a whispered, “could y’ stay?”
The day had come to a close with Ted repeatedly carding his fingers through schlatts hair as he drifted off to sleep, looking at him occasionally to take in his friend in his most peaceful moments, stuffed bunny cradled under his chin and eyes closed after a long day. When he woke up they would talk about this, but for now Ted waits for Schlatt’s breathing to even out and decides that he loves schlatt even more for this new side of himself.