#sleazeballtm

who: paul and ted ( @sleazeballtm ) where: ccrp technical, friday morning

Going back to work after New Years feels wrong. Sure, long breaks tend to make Paul a little stir crazy, but there’s something unsettling about it. The party did not go as he intended, and he can’t help but feel like there’s some sort of… rumor floating around the office about him. A rumor that’s sure to paint him in an unsavory light, if they have anything to do with it.

He wants to squash the misunderstandings before they happen. So, against his better judgment, he approaches Ted just one cubicle over. Swallowing, he raps his knuckles atop the plastic dividers. “Hi, Ted,” he starts, tone flat but encouraging. (Or, at least, he hopes so.) “Did you, uh, have a good break?”

who: pete and ted ( @sleazeballtm ) where: their shared apartment.

Two days out of the house, and Pete has to wonder if Ted changed the locks on him. He was happy to get out, of course, and spend time with other people – namely Stephanie Lauter – but after a certain point, a man is entitled to sleeping in his own bed. So, as he approaches their shared apartment, Pete knocks only once before letting himself in. (A quick breath of relief escapes him when the key does indeed work.)

“I’m home,” he calls out, toeing off his shoes at the door. Slowly, he trudges towards the couch, nearly faceplanting into the cushions as exhaustion sinks into his bones. He has half a mind to take his glasses off and plop them on the coffee table before he’s fully face down, words muffled into the pillow as he speaks. “I said I’m home.”

who: henry and ted ( @sleazeballtm ) where: the birdhouse

Another night, another drink. Henry often finds himself in places like this at the end of his day, saddled up at the bar, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He generally keeps the same company, too – a turn to his right reveals Ted Spankoffski. There’s an odd kinship between the two of them – while Henry was content to drink alone most nights, the other man would always be in the same area, at the same time. Eventually, the distance between their stools closed, and now, they’re good friends. One could even say best friends.

Taking a sip from his drink, Henry turns, examines Ted with keen eyes. “You look happier than usual,” he states. The words could be seen as offensive, perhaps even mean to most people, but not between them. Henry had truly seen Ted at his lowest, and currently, the man is almost beaming with content. “I take it your New Year’s was plenty enjoyable,” he adds on, a clear indication in his tone as he smirks behind the rim of his glass.

who: linda & ted ( @sleazeballtm ) where: the monroe residence

it was the tuesday after new years, a day marked in ink for one of linda's regular rendezvous. there were no feelings for ted spankoffski. he was a dweeb from high school who found a sense of self worth in between a woman's legs and, well, he knew what he was doing so she kept up this routine. tonight felt different though. his mind felt distant. the quips that normally earned a roll of her eyes had lessened.

" you're different, " she noted with a hum where she was lounging in her bed, the silken sheet draped over her bare frame. " if i didn't know better, i could have sworn you had another name at the tip of your tongue tonight . . . "

emma thought she had left performing for money back in the ruins of hatchetfield. kelly, however, had been spending the past several months dancing provocatively on the top of a bar in cowboy boots and skimpy clothing when she wasn't tending bar. she didn't mind it so much really. the bar played good music, much better than the cheesy jingles nora and zoey would come up with.

who she didn't expect to ever see again was ted. andrew vega. equally as gross as kelly finch. it was nice to have one person left on this planet who would call her emma again, and she knew that their names carried new weight with them. they were markers of sole survivors of the perkins and spankoffski families... as much as the government wanted it, how could that be erased? but seeing ted? it brought her relief. the report she had been given when asking about him in the hospital had been vague, at best.

saturday at the coyote ugly was wild, as per usual, packed shoulder to shoulder with patrons from eight until closing at three. emma had just gone through the motions with new energy that ted was there keeping her company at his parked seat on the bar, one that if anyone dared make a comment about, she happily would step in and ask if there was a problem. and on her breaks, they enjoyed each other's company, be it making out against the side of the building or sitting on top of one of the picnic tables and sharing a joint and good conversation. the fact he wanted to wait until closing for her warmed something in her, a hope that maybe she could have one piece of home stick around here for a little while longer.

after work, she led him in her car out of city limits and to her house in the country, his following. her hair had been straightened before work, but with a water pitcher routine, it had gotten wet with the rest of her clothes and was back in its frizzy natural state. after a long shift at work, she was more than ready to kick off her boots and jump into a scalding hot shower.

she led him into the house though, turning on a lamp here and there in passing and dropping her things as she went. she turned on her boots to face @sleazeballtm in the living room though, the fork in the road.

" i feel disgusting, so i'm gonna go shower, " she reported with a quiet laugh, lifting a hand to ruffle in her mess of curls. " do you . . . want to make yourself comfortable? or you could . . . i mean, you could shower too -- if you wanted -- "

for @sleazeballtm <3

@sleazeballtm said -> "Hidge," Ted says it lazily, turning his head from where he sits-- bottle of beer in hand and other lifting to brush through his dark locks, "Do you have any idea what it's like to be this attractive? Like, don't get me wrong, you're a good looking guy-- but you're not getting any younger. Neither am I, but I'm definitely still in my prime, ya know?"

Henry is pulled from his reverie — having been lost in memories of the good ole days — he turns his head to look curiously at Ted, nose crinkling just slightly. “You’ve got an ego on you, don’t you?” He asks, cocking a curious brow before a smile is pulling at his lips. For some reason, Ted’s antics are endearing. “And what does that make me? Decay and rot?”

a starter for @sleazeballtm <3

"mr. spankoffski-- ted." becky greets the older spankoffski brother with a professional politeness. peter's brother arriving to st. damien's quicker than their parents, admittedly, was enough to give her a pause for a fraction of a second. it's always difficult to have these kinds of conversations with the family members of her patients. although the spankoffskis have a... questionable reputation in town, becky certainly isn't one to judge. she glances down at the paperwork fastened to the clipboard in her hands, then continues.