[ It had been a series of surprising coincidences that Haru was starting to think were beginning to push against the definition of what a coincidence was. First meeting up in some youkai-filled city, then meeting up near a labyrinth, remembering each other when so few people knew them. And now this, to make it home to her not-as-lavish-but-very-well-furnished apartment, only to find Eddie wandering confused in Shibuya a few days later.
... There was no way she could have left him alone, not her roommate turned friend turned... well, it was difficult to really know what to call the swirl of feelings that accompanied thoughts of Eddie lately. He simultaneously made her feel comfortable and highly aware of him, his proximity, his crooked smile and the teasing glint in his eyes. She wasn't sure what to do about it, a little too cautious after she'd let her guard down with Akira.
But for now? Eddie's staying with her, doing whatever he pleases when she's got her college classes, and finally it's a longer weekend, which was the perfect excuse to finally sit down and binge-watch all of the Lord of the Rings movies.
The second one is just wrapping up, and from a glance at the clock in the now-naturally darkened room, it's been approximately seven hours since they started. Haru is getting a little drowsy now, for as riveting as these movies are, leaning against Eddie on the couch without really thinking about it. ]
It really... has quite an impact when you can see the story actually unfurl like this...
From death, to a strange world, to another strange world, to another… less-strange world but still weird, Eddie feels like he’s been slingshotted across the multiverse like someone’s plaything. To say it was jarring to find himself sleeping in his hobbit hole bed one day, to confusedly wandering the streets of Japan? Honestly, for a second, he thought that he had made a cycle, completed the loop, and ended up once more in a more-normal version of Jigokucho. Left to fend for himself.
This time, that wasn’t quite right. This time, the world belonged to Haru, and when they stumbled into each other again, he couldn’t help but laugh in a half-delirious way. They keep finding each other, don’t they? Like it's fate. And much like before, it’s grounding; her face is a relief, blossoming and warm and welcome, and it's unlike anything he’s experienced in a long while. As always, he’s happy to see her.
So he stays with her, of course, having nowhere else to go. It’s what they’re used to, anyway, living in the same space — to not be unorthodox roomies would just be weird at this point. She’s busier than he is, and he does his level best to follow the ground rules she’s set—not that he never did before—especially considering it’s her actual space this time. He kills time; listens to music, watches TV and movies. And when they’ve got time to spend together (he always looks forward to it), sometimes he wrangles her into one of the above.
Tonight? It’s Lord of the Rings night. He’s been looking forward to it for what feels like an age, and he’s been glued to the screen practically the whole while. These movies are… long, though, and by the time they reach the end of The Two Towers, the credits rolling, he only just seems to notice the position Haru’s taken, leaning against his shoulder.
…They’ve gotten really comfortable with each other over time, huh? He hadn’t even given it a second thought, and even now, he can’t find anything embarrassing about it (yet), and he nudges her with his shoulder gently.]
“Quite an impact”, huh? You look like you’re about to fall asleep. Still with me, Haru?
I'm still with you. [ It's a little too earnest, which means the teasing tone of his voice went right over her head. Go figure. But there's a tranquil smile on her face, one that very few people manage to pull out of her but Eddie can do so easily. This really is just... a situation she hadn't expected to find herself in, a movie night with a good roommate. The Haru of a couple years ago wouldn't have dreamed of such a luxury and she meets his eyes with a good-natured little huff. ]
We have one more movie left, don't we? I'll change it out.
[ ... In a minute. Eddie's warmth right now makes him feel like a magnet right now and moving away sounds like a tremendous task. They have a few more minutes of credits left anyway, right? She can gather up the strength to move after that. ]
[The way she says it, he's liable to think she missed his teasing tone altogether. At first, Eddie thinks that's a shame—her reactions almost always delight him, he can’t help it—but as he angles his head down to catch the peaceable look on her face, then he realizes that’s a blessing in itself. She's so… content. Drowsy, yeah, but content. For as hype as Eddie is to continue onwards to the next movie, he finds himself letting the moment stretch out a little longer than he would normally.
Now that he thinks about it, a few years ago, and he wouldn’t really have imagined this happening, either. Back in Hawkins, it was just him and his uncle. Him and the kids in Hellfire. But at the end of the day, late at night, trying to find a movie to watch or music to listen to… It was just him. Having company in quiet moments like these, with a friend—friend? Right? Friend.—is a strange and unearthly thing. He's taken to it.]
Uh-huh.
[He offers dubiously, but not as dubious as before.]
Let me change it out, actually. And I’ll grab you a blanket in the meanwhile, since someone’s going to fall asleep right before the end of The Return of the King, I can just feel it in my bones.
I don't intend to. [ With the kind of formal protest that means she absolutely will, but now she's going to be extremely stubborn about it and Eddie will catch her jerking awake into consciousness at least four separate times before she gives up. Because she does enjoy these movies very much! They're fun to watch and get excited over with him, truly. Haru just isn't good at staying up too late without preemptive measures.
Still, she accepts his offer, reaching for the arm of the couch to pull herself up and away from her companion so Eddie isn't trapped with a young lady glued to his side. ]
I believe the final one ought to be action-packed, anyway. I doubt anyone could fall asleep.
[Famous last words. Knowing what he knows of the books—and assuming the movie will align similarly in terms of pacing—then there’s going to be a whole-ass section near the end where Haru definitely could end up falling asleep.]
We’ll see, won’t we? It’s okay. You can continue to use my shoulder as a pillow if you want.
[Another wide and teasing grin. But he means it, because it was kind of nice, and he feels bereft without it once she pulls away.
But anyway! He stands up with too much energy for someone who’s been glued to the couching, watching movies into the late hour, and Eddie goes to change out the movie. He mutters idly while he’s doing it-]
Look at me, getting better with this technology or whatever...
[ She's a little envious of that energy, truly. But Eddie has bounced up and ahead and Haru does her best to straighten properly, keep her back glued to the couch and rest her hands in her lap as she watches him with a sleepy sort of fondness. He really does seem more at ease and comfortable here, in this space, than he had originally.
Good. She's relieved for it. ]
You're a quick learner, when it's something you're interested in.
[The next LotR movie is proverbially dangling before him. He could be running on 3 hours of sleep (and honestly, the equivalent is probably coming, given how late they're staying up), and he'd still be practically vibrating out of his skin to see the next one as soon as possible.
In goes the DVD! Huzzah. He really is adept at this.]
Well... yeah.
[He stretches out the single-syllable word (yyyeah) in a faux showing of humility. Then he spins on his heel and grins wide at her while the screen starts flicking again with a newly-loaded disc, heading back to the couch.]
Though our stay in that other city kind of made it necessary that I keep up with the times. [Jigokucho, he means. He plops down beside her!] Which was kind of a blessing because, like, it means I'm more suited to staying here with you now.
Even if you weren't, I feel like you would have been fine. Though I hope if anything's still confusing or troubling you about the... [ future? ]
Well, about being... here, you'll talk to me about it so I can help in any way I can.
[ And Haru picks up the remote, skipping ahead to the menu portion so she can start the movie without them sitting through any previews. ]
After the movie, of course. [ No one here is really going to be able to hold a full conversation in the face of the final Lord of the Rings movie, let's be honest. ]
[Honestly? There’s plenty confusing and troubling about the future that Eddie could pick up on, plenty worrisome about being trotted from universe to universe, world to world. He wonders what that means for him back home— No, he knows it means there’s nothing left for him back home, really, but what does it mean for his future? Is he going to wake up one day and be in yet one more world? And what happens when Haru isn’t with him?
He tries not to think about that.
Here, being with her, in her home world is the most grounding experience yet. He doesn’t want this one to end so suddenly, without warning. Though the shadow of his old life still hangs over his head like a funeral veil, moments like these feel like a shred of normalcy in a time where normal has become a rarity.
Of course, he doesn't say any of that, though, even if some of it flickers through his expression. And is that ironic after Haru's just said "you'll talk to me about it"? Sure. But they have a movie to watch!]
Haru, if I suddenly can't figure out how to work the TV remote or some touchscreen or whatever, you're the first person I'm running to. Promise.
All right... well, I'd be happy to help with anything.
[ She says it a little hesitantly, because she'd seen something shift in his expression. And she knows it's not something simple like fighting the technology--and it's not like Haru is all that great with it, considering all the computers she's managed to break with a single touch.
But she can't help Eddie if it isn't something he feels comfortable speaking with her about. Maybe that will change and he'll come to her in his own time, on his own terms.
But for now, the movie's starting, and this time she opts to lean gently against him from the get-go, more as support than as an accidental gravitation to a warm body. ]
[He's just going to play off that little snippet of hesitation he heard in her tone, smiling wide, acting like there's nothing wrong and definitely nothing that needs to be talked about in the future. The near future? The far future? He doesn't even know how he'd broach that subject...
Whatever. Lord of the Rings time.
The movie plays on, and Eddie once more finds comfort in the way she leans against him, and he hikes up a knee to get comfy, his other long leg dangling out. (Don't worry, he's taken his shoes off. He knows the rules!)
At some point, there's commentary-]
Holy shit, how did they animate so much of the armies like that? There's no way they found that many extras, right?
[Or even more commentary-]
Looking at Gandalf's like looking straight into the sun for those poor losers.
[And more-]
Man, Sam and Frodo really get, uh, sentimental in these movies.
[...How's Haru holding up? Still awake as they draw close to the credits again? It sure is late. Early. Whatever.]
[ Haru lasts longer than... probably expected, for either of them. She's just very groggily responding to pretty much all of Eddie's commentary? Yeah! Some tidbits of her own, a little gasp when Frodo falters right at the end and is determined to keep the ring for himself, a comment before that about his... almost intimate friendship with Sam, Aragorn's leadership--
But, yeah. As they hit the part where Frodo wakes up, at some point, Haru will have fallen asleep, curled even more against Eddie now and breathing so quietly and so deeply that it's clearly not just a situation of lightly dozing off.
[You know, he seems to realize that this might be more than just a "dozing off" situation when he repeats the same question once, twice, and receives not so much as a murmur in response.]
Hey... uh, Haru...?
[He gives her the gentlest of nudges. Oh-so-gentle. If she still doesn't stir, then he finds himself in a rather dire position, doesn't he? How's he supposed to get up without waking her up? Why would he be a fiend and even risk waking her in the first place?
...Not when she looks that peaceful, anyway. Eddie swallows, his look lingering for a second too long, then exhales.]
Well, hell.
[Guess she could just sleep here. But she needs a blanket, right? Or... something.
Eddie's going to try to slowly, slowly ease himself up, maybe with the hope that he lays her down very gently onto the couch without waking her up. How does that go?]
[ yeah, she doesn't stir a whit. She's too deeply asleep and only really mumbles in instinctive protest when her very comfortable source of warmth moves away. Of course, the couch is still there and it's still soft, even if it's not as nice, but an unconscious university student isn't going to really have any qualms with it.
But Eddie will be able to maneuver her onto her side and there she will stay, so hey! A victory for him! ]
He manages it with a bit of stealth that impresses even him, turning to make sure she remains asleep and comfortable, hands out in a "stay there for just one second" gesture, even though he knows she can't see him. And then he turns around and shuffles away — as quietly as he can manage. Then it’s the matter of turning off all the electronics, something Eddie manages with only a little bit of muttering to himself. With success, his grin widens… And then it’s off to find a blanket.
He doesn’t know, uh, where he should get one, really, so he ends up retrieving a blanket from his own bed, in his own room, dragging it back out to the couch and unfolding it to lay across Haru’s form.]
…There.
[He murmurs, pleased with himself, while simultaneously finding himself distracted watching her form, the peaceable expression on her face.
So… now what?
He could retreat to his room, go to sleep, but it feels? Rude? Weird? To leave her out here by herself, like some kind of punishment for daring to fall asleep in the middle of Lord of the Rings. Eddie rubs the back of his neck.
…Ultimately, he ends up easing himself back down on the couch and lifting up a corner of the blanket to share, spreading it across his shoulders. It’s big enough, at least. This is fine, right?]
Hey, Haru… Okay if I sleep here tonight, too?
[He asks, fully knowing he’ll get zero response probably.]
[ Haru proves to be not a very fussy sleeper or otherwise just very tired from her university courses these days--or both, either is equally likely. She hasn't moved an inch, apparently unconsciously responding to Eddie's unnoticed placatory gestures to get her to stay in one spot while he grabs a blanket, and the blanket itself is accepted without so even as much of a twitch of her finger.
She only seems to react (barely) when Eddie speaks to her to "ask" for permission, and that's more or less just to mumble something softly in a sleepy hum, which is probably agreement? Permission granted? It'd be protest if she was awake, telling him to sleep in an actual bed, but she's the one who's passed out on the couch right now, so. She has no real sway in any of this. ]
[You know what? That's good enough. He'd feel like a jerk without asking, but that fear is swept away by Haru's barely-murmur, which might indicate how set he was on napping on the couch with Haru.
So, again, he tugs the blanket gently so it settles across him comfortably, shifts a little to bring his legs up and curls himself up into a cushion — contorted but comfortable. Like a cat. And like a cat, he just figures they'll doze off for a bit, wake up in the dead of the night/early morning, and return to their beds properly. What's the harm?
Sleep takes him, eventually. It ends up being a little longer than a "nap."
And after watching so much LotR, is it any surprise that Eddie's brain spits out a similarly-themed dream for him to revel in? It's all bits and pieces and mixed-up scenes, like dreams tend to be; though the most prominent part he'll remember when he wakes up is Rivendell and its pale, elegant architecture lording over long-spilling waterfalls. The squares, the streets, the faces. The breeze as he wanders into courtyards dotted with the shade of swaying trees overhead.
…And maybe another reason he remembers Rivendell the best is because Haru's there. Dressed in long and luxurious fabrics, much like all the elves do in this city. He greets her happily, of course, when he sees her. That much is no different than their exchanges in the waking world. But there is a point amid their conversation about this new, beautiful city that shifts into a different tone — she stands a little too close, someone says something a little too flirty, maybe his eyes wander along the way the fabric clings to her curves in very specific places. Because, inhibitions gone out the window in a dream, he finds him leaning in for a kiss, and her kissing him back.
And then he's touching her; they're touching each other. Probably a little too steamily for standing out amid a courtyard in public, but his mind then supplies them with a new setting, indoors, with a four-poster bed awaiting them, its frame carved beautifully—
The rest of the dream is a blur, but it's definitely kind of a spicy one, and he can't tell if it's a blessing or a curse that he just… wakes up in the middle of it, feeling a little too warm, wrapped up in this blanket like it's trying to cling to every inch of his body, sitting up straight and more than a little disoriented.]
Ah… dude, what…
[What’s happening? Right. He fell asleep on the couch after a long LotR watch session. With Haru. Haru, who watched the movie with him, Haru, who began to doze off, Haru, who's still there next to him, Haru of whom he had a not exactly PG-related dream about—
Oh. He glances aside at her, brow furrowing, cheeks still a little flushed.]
[ Maybe Eddie made some noises in the middle of his unexpectedly spicy dream. Maybe she'd felt the couch shift. Or maybe Haru's just been blissfully asleep until now and her body had decided it was time to rouse as soon as it picked up on Eddie's voice.
Whatever the case, Eddie will find himself meeting a pair of sleepy brown eyes that blink once, then twice, as Haru groggily pushes herself up semi-upright and nudges a fist against the corner of an eye. She feels... sore? As though she'd fallen asleep somewhere instead of her usual bed, and Eddie is there, which is also a tad unusual. ]
Eddie-san...?
[ Unlike him, if she'd had any dreams, she doesn't remember them at all, bearing the tousled curls of someone who had definitely been Very Asleep until just now. ]
... Did I fall asleep out here? What--
[ ... He looks flushed, and her eyebrows draw delicately together. ]
[He doesn’t mean to worry her, of course, but the expression on his face probably isn’t helping — a fair amount of consternation, intermingling with confusion, and that mixing with the stark realization of what he had just dreamt versus the reality of what’s happening now.
(Why? Why did he have a dream like that—? He might die of embarrassment, replaying the images in his head— No, Eddie, don’t replay the images in your head right now, you idiot.)
…But who’s he kidding, really? There’s only one real reason why he’d have a dream like that, and not just because his body only wants to think below the belt line. He can feel his heart beating in his chest like a bird trying to fly out of a cage, looking at her now, and all he can think to himself is, Shit, I’m really in trouble.]
Uh, uhh— [Very eloquent.] It’s nothing. It’s nothing, Haru. Go back to sleep!
[ In fact, her gaze only seems to be clearing up, gaining a gleam of alertness as she studies his face. It's difficult to parse what he's actually feeling at the moment, but he looks... distressed? Distressed, if she had to summarize it into a single word. ]
Do you need some water? Or you feeling ill?
[ Very sorry, Eddie. In the true stylings of romantic comedy, she's reaching out to press her palm to his forehead to check for a fever. ]
[Oh, but Eddie is not powerful enough to survive a tried and true gesture of a romantic comedy, and when she reaches out to brush her hand against his forehead, he all but flushes even deeper. Her nearness is paradoxically both welcome and not; because he has suddenly become very aware of a, uh, problem assailing him below the beltline, a consequence of a very sexy dream, and Eddie really, really will dig a hole for himself to die in if she even comes close to noticing. Literally the worst-case scenario.
So he leaaannsss away.]
N-no, no, I think I just had a... weird dream. It's gotten me all riled up I guess?
You really should just go back to sleep. [He'll realize in a second that he should just ask her for a glass of water so he can ESCAPE while she's doing that, but this fact doesn't register just yet.] You've gotta be sore from falling asleep on the couch.
It could mean anything when he leans away, she tells herself. Like he just said, he could still be dealing with the aftermath of a weird dream. It doesn't have to mean that she did something to offend him while she was asleep. Or maybe he thought he couldn't leave her alone when she'd dozed off on the couch and had forced himself to try to stay here as well and it had led to an upsetting dream?
Or maybe he's coming down with something, but for someone who's always been so comfortable with proximity and contact, for him to move away now...
Haru can't entirely hide the hurt and confusion in her gaze for a second before she draws her hand back and shifts off the couch. ]
... I think you should probably try to sleep properly as well. Please don't bother yourself with me.
[Her expression, paired with "please don't bother yourself with me" makes Eddie wince a little. Despite himself, he has enough awareness to wonder if his very flushed, half-awkward, panic-hidden state might have come across as offense.
Shit, that's the last thing he wanted. Offended is the last thing he's feeling.]
Haru, don't... Don't say it like that.
[Oh godddd, he reaches up to scrub a hand across his very warm face.]
It was just a real shitty dream. [Narrator voice: It was not. But when in doubt, lie.] I just need some time to recover.
My apologies. I suppose if someone had reached out to you after having a nightmare, you would recoil.
[ She looks a little abashed now, but at least she doesn't seem to be entertaining the thought that he intensely dislikes her for some inexplicable reason. Still... ]
You should sleep in your own bed, all right? I'll see you in the morning.
[ The later morning. What time is it, even? ]
And if you're feeling unwell at all by then, please let me know.
Right. I'll head back to bed, but you should, too.
[Like, he also doesn't want to be the first to stand up and head to their rooms. So there he sits, fingers vaguely gripping the corner of the blanket to keep himself remotely covered.
Even so, awkward or not, he'd feel weird leaving it at this. So he has to at least offer-]
[ Haru pauses, having already taken a step towards her room (since she was on her feet, anyway, and Eddie looks like he needs a moment to recover from his Absolutely Awful Dream). She glances over her shoulder at him, then offers up a tentative but sincere smile in return. ]
I did, too. Thank you for your wonderful company as always, Eddie-san. Good night.
[ And she'll move quietly to her room to give him all the time he needs to maybe not embarrass himself in front of his absolutely unwitting roommate. ]
[Yes, a terrible, terrible dream. One that he has to definitely stand here awkwardly to, uh, process.
The smile he gives her, at least, is sincere enough when she retreats to her bedroom. Eddie hates to have left this on a weird note, but there’s just no getting around the kind of issues his body is giving him right now. He even offers her a goofy little wave as she departs.
As soon as she closes the door, he’s murmuring to himself under his breath—]
Shit, man. What’s wrong with you…
[And he’s going to go back to his bedroom, now.
The morning comes too quickly. He hasn’t slept all that great, and while it isn’t wholly because of worrisome reasons, Eddie fiddles with his hair as he emerges from the depths of his bedroom to see what’s going on in the apartment this morning, looking all fidgety. He seeks out Haru, because let’s be real — she probably gets up before him, anyway.]
[ Haru is... out on the balcony, just past her room, but the door's open so he should be able to find her... chopping wood. With an axe. Her hair's pulled back in a high ponytail to keep it off her neck and as Eddie calls out to her, she lowers the axe and turns to face him with a smile. ]
[Of course she's out here chopping wood with an axe. Eddie's probably not unused to seeing these kinds of sights by now, but it sure hits differently after last night. He wanders that way, out into the fresh air.
He clears his throat. Loudly. And stuffs his hands in his pajama pockets when Haru asks that of him.]
I'm f...ine. I'm fine.
[Beleiveable, right.]
Just, uh. Tossed and turned in my sleep a lot. Need some help out here?
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finalflight2023-05-02 12:30 pm
no subject
... There was no way she could have left him alone, not her roommate turned friend turned... well, it was difficult to really know what to call the swirl of feelings that accompanied thoughts of Eddie lately. He simultaneously made her feel comfortable and highly aware of him, his proximity, his crooked smile and the teasing glint in his eyes. She wasn't sure what to do about it, a little too cautious after she'd let her guard down with Akira.
But for now? Eddie's staying with her, doing whatever he pleases when she's got her college classes, and finally it's a longer weekend, which was the perfect excuse to finally sit down and binge-watch all of the Lord of the Rings movies.
The second one is just wrapping up, and from a glance at the clock in the now-naturally darkened room, it's been approximately seven hours since they started. Haru is getting a little drowsy now, for as riveting as these movies are, leaning against Eddie on the couch without really thinking about it. ]
It really... has quite an impact when you can see the story actually unfurl like this...
no subject
From death, to a strange world, to another strange world, to another… less-strange world but still weird, Eddie feels like he’s been slingshotted across the multiverse like someone’s plaything. To say it was jarring to find himself sleeping in his hobbit hole bed one day, to confusedly wandering the streets of Japan? Honestly, for a second, he thought that he had made a cycle, completed the loop, and ended up once more in a more-normal version of Jigokucho. Left to fend for himself.
This time, that wasn’t quite right. This time, the world belonged to Haru, and when they stumbled into each other again, he couldn’t help but laugh in a half-delirious way. They keep finding each other, don’t they? Like it's fate. And much like before, it’s grounding; her face is a relief, blossoming and warm and welcome, and it's unlike anything he’s experienced in a long while. As always, he’s happy to see her.
So he stays with her, of course, having nowhere else to go. It’s what they’re used to, anyway, living in the same space — to not be unorthodox roomies would just be weird at this point. She’s busier than he is, and he does his level best to follow the ground rules she’s set—not that he never did before—especially considering it’s her actual space this time. He kills time; listens to music, watches TV and movies. And when they’ve got time to spend together (he always looks forward to it), sometimes he wrangles her into one of the above.
Tonight? It’s Lord of the Rings night. He’s been looking forward to it for what feels like an age, and he’s been glued to the screen practically the whole while. These movies are… long, though, and by the time they reach the end of The Two Towers, the credits rolling, he only just seems to notice the position Haru’s taken, leaning against his shoulder.
…They’ve gotten really comfortable with each other over time, huh? He hadn’t even given it a second thought, and even now, he can’t find anything embarrassing about it (yet), and he nudges her with his shoulder gently.]
“Quite an impact”, huh? You look like you’re about to fall asleep. Still with me, Haru?
[Teasing, of course.]
no subject
We have one more movie left, don't we? I'll change it out.
[ ... In a minute. Eddie's warmth right now makes him feel like a magnet right now and moving away sounds like a tremendous task. They have a few more minutes of credits left anyway, right? She can gather up the strength to move after that. ]
no subject
Now that he thinks about it, a few years ago, and he wouldn’t really have imagined this happening, either. Back in Hawkins, it was just him and his uncle. Him and the kids in Hellfire. But at the end of the day, late at night, trying to find a movie to watch or music to listen to… It was just him. Having company in quiet moments like these, with a friend—friend? Right? Friend.—is a strange and unearthly thing. He's taken to it.]
Uh-huh.
[He offers dubiously, but not as dubious as before.]
Let me change it out, actually. And I’ll grab you a blanket in the meanwhile, since someone’s going to fall asleep right before the end of The Return of the King, I can just feel it in my bones.
no subject
Still, she accepts his offer, reaching for the arm of the couch to pull herself up and away from her companion so Eddie isn't trapped with a young lady glued to his side. ]
I believe the final one ought to be action-packed, anyway. I doubt anyone could fall asleep.
[ Famous last words. ]
no subject
We’ll see, won’t we? It’s okay. You can continue to use my shoulder as a pillow if you want.
[Another wide and teasing grin. But he means it, because it was kind of nice, and he feels bereft without it once she pulls away.
But anyway! He stands up with too much energy for someone who’s been glued to the couching, watching movies into the late hour, and Eddie goes to change out the movie. He mutters idly while he’s doing it-]
Look at me, getting better with this technology or whatever...
[DVDs. Amazing.]
no subject
Good. She's relieved for it. ]
You're a quick learner, when it's something you're interested in.
no subject
In goes the DVD! Huzzah. He really is adept at this.]
Well... yeah.
[He stretches out the single-syllable word (yyyeah) in a faux showing of humility. Then he spins on his heel and grins wide at her while the screen starts flicking again with a newly-loaded disc, heading back to the couch.]
Though our stay in that other city kind of made it necessary that I keep up with the times. [Jigokucho, he means. He plops down beside her!] Which was kind of a blessing because, like, it means I'm more suited to staying here with you now.
no subject
Well, about being... here, you'll talk to me about it so I can help in any way I can.
[ And Haru picks up the remote, skipping ahead to the menu portion so she can start the movie without them sitting through any previews. ]
After the movie, of course. [ No one here is really going to be able to hold a full conversation in the face of the final Lord of the Rings movie, let's be honest. ]
no subject
He tries not to think about that.
Here, being with her, in her home world is the most grounding experience yet. He doesn’t want this one to end so suddenly, without warning. Though the shadow of his old life still hangs over his head like a funeral veil, moments like these feel like a shred of normalcy in a time where normal has become a rarity.
Of course, he doesn't say any of that, though, even if some of it flickers through his expression. And is that ironic after Haru's just said "you'll talk to me about it"? Sure. But they have a movie to watch!]
Haru, if I suddenly can't figure out how to work the TV remote or some touchscreen or whatever, you're the first person I'm running to. Promise.
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[ She says it a little hesitantly, because she'd seen something shift in his expression. And she knows it's not something simple like fighting the technology--and it's not like Haru is all that great with it, considering all the computers she's managed to break with a single touch.
But she can't help Eddie if it isn't something he feels comfortable speaking with her about. Maybe that will change and he'll come to her in his own time, on his own terms.
But for now, the movie's starting, and this time she opts to lean gently against him from the get-go, more as support than as an accidental gravitation to a warm body. ]
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Whatever. Lord of the Rings time.
The movie plays on, and Eddie once more finds comfort in the way she leans against him, and he hikes up a knee to get comfy, his other long leg dangling out. (Don't worry, he's taken his shoes off. He knows the rules!)
At some point, there's commentary-]
Holy shit, how did they animate so much of the armies like that? There's no way they found that many extras, right?
[Or even more commentary-]
Looking at Gandalf's like looking straight into the sun for those poor losers.
[And more-]
Man, Sam and Frodo really get, uh, sentimental in these movies.
[...How's Haru holding up? Still awake as they draw close to the credits again? It sure is late. Early. Whatever.]
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But, yeah. As they hit the part where Frodo wakes up, at some point, Haru will have fallen asleep, curled even more against Eddie now and breathing so quietly and so deeply that it's clearly not just a situation of lightly dozing off.
Oops. ]
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Hey... uh, Haru...?
[He gives her the gentlest of nudges. Oh-so-gentle. If she still doesn't stir, then he finds himself in a rather dire position, doesn't he? How's he supposed to get up without waking her up? Why would he be a fiend and even risk waking her in the first place?
...Not when she looks that peaceful, anyway. Eddie swallows, his look lingering for a second too long, then exhales.]
Well, hell.
[Guess she could just sleep here. But she needs a blanket, right? Or... something.
Eddie's going to try to slowly, slowly ease himself up, maybe with the hope that he lays her down very gently onto the couch without waking her up. How does that go?]
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But Eddie will be able to maneuver her onto her side and there she will stay, so hey! A victory for him! ]
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He manages it with a bit of stealth that impresses even him, turning to make sure she remains asleep and comfortable, hands out in a "stay there for just one second" gesture, even though he knows she can't see him. And then he turns around and shuffles away — as quietly as he can manage. Then it’s the matter of turning off all the electronics, something Eddie manages with only a little bit of muttering to himself. With success, his grin widens… And then it’s off to find a blanket.
He doesn’t know, uh, where he should get one, really, so he ends up retrieving a blanket from his own bed, in his own room, dragging it back out to the couch and unfolding it to lay across Haru’s form.]
…There.
[He murmurs, pleased with himself, while simultaneously finding himself distracted watching her form, the peaceable expression on her face.
So… now what?
He could retreat to his room, go to sleep, but it feels? Rude? Weird? To leave her out here by herself, like some kind of punishment for daring to fall asleep in the middle of Lord of the Rings. Eddie rubs the back of his neck.
…Ultimately, he ends up easing himself back down on the couch and lifting up a corner of the blanket to share, spreading it across his shoulders. It’s big enough, at least. This is fine, right?]
Hey, Haru… Okay if I sleep here tonight, too?
[He asks, fully knowing he’ll get zero response probably.]
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She only seems to react (barely) when Eddie speaks to her to "ask" for permission, and that's more or less just to mumble something softly in a sleepy hum, which is probably agreement? Permission granted? It'd be protest if she was awake, telling him to sleep in an actual bed, but she's the one who's passed out on the couch right now, so. She has no real sway in any of this. ]
this got SO LONG
So, again, he tugs the blanket gently so it settles across him comfortably, shifts a little to bring his legs up and curls himself up into a cushion — contorted but comfortable. Like a cat. And like a cat, he just figures they'll doze off for a bit, wake up in the dead of the night/early morning, and return to their beds properly. What's the harm?
Sleep takes him, eventually. It ends up being a little longer than a "nap."
And after watching so much LotR, is it any surprise that Eddie's brain spits out a similarly-themed dream for him to revel in? It's all bits and pieces and mixed-up scenes, like dreams tend to be; though the most prominent part he'll remember when he wakes up is Rivendell and its pale, elegant architecture lording over long-spilling waterfalls. The squares, the streets, the faces. The breeze as he wanders into courtyards dotted with the shade of swaying trees overhead.
…And maybe another reason he remembers Rivendell the best is because Haru's there. Dressed in long and luxurious fabrics, much like all the elves do in this city. He greets her happily, of course, when he sees her. That much is no different than their exchanges in the waking world. But there is a point amid their conversation about this new, beautiful city that shifts into a different tone — she stands a little too close, someone says something a little too flirty, maybe his eyes wander along the way the fabric clings to her curves in very specific places. Because, inhibitions gone out the window in a dream, he finds him leaning in for a kiss, and her kissing him back.
And then he's touching her; they're touching each other. Probably a little too steamily for standing out amid a courtyard in public, but his mind then supplies them with a new setting, indoors, with a four-poster bed awaiting them, its frame carved beautifully—
The rest of the dream is a blur, but it's definitely kind of a spicy one, and he can't tell if it's a blessing or a curse that he just… wakes up in the middle of it, feeling a little too warm, wrapped up in this blanket like it's trying to cling to every inch of his body, sitting up straight and more than a little disoriented.]
Ah… dude, what…
[What’s happening? Right. He fell asleep on the couch after a long LotR watch session. With Haru. Haru, who watched the movie with him, Haru, who began to doze off, Haru, who's still there next to him, Haru of whom he had a not exactly PG-related dream about—
Oh. He glances aside at her, brow furrowing, cheeks still a little flushed.]
Ohhh, crap.
beautifully long tbh
Whatever the case, Eddie will find himself meeting a pair of sleepy brown eyes that blink once, then twice, as Haru groggily pushes herself up semi-upright and nudges a fist against the corner of an eye. She feels... sore? As though she'd fallen asleep somewhere instead of her usual bed, and Eddie is there, which is also a tad unusual. ]
Eddie-san...?
[ Unlike him, if she'd had any dreams, she doesn't remember them at all, bearing the tousled curls of someone who had definitely been Very Asleep until just now. ]
... Did I fall asleep out here? What--
[ ... He looks flushed, and her eyebrows draw delicately together. ]
Are you all right?
gosh
(Why? Why did he have a dream like that—? He might die of embarrassment, replaying the images in his head— No, Eddie, don’t replay the images in your head right now, you idiot.)
…But who’s he kidding, really? There’s only one real reason why he’d have a dream like that, and not just because his body only wants to think below the belt line. He can feel his heart beating in his chest like a bird trying to fly out of a cage, looking at her now, and all he can think to himself is, Shit, I’m really in trouble.]
Uh, uhh— [Very eloquent.] It’s nothing. It’s nothing, Haru. Go back to sleep!
gosh!
[ In fact, her gaze only seems to be clearing up, gaining a gleam of alertness as she studies his face. It's difficult to parse what he's actually feeling at the moment, but he looks... distressed? Distressed, if she had to summarize it into a single word. ]
Do you need some water? Or you feeling ill?
[ Very sorry, Eddie. In the true stylings of romantic comedy, she's reaching out to press her palm to his forehead to check for a fever. ]
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So he leaaannsss away.]
N-no, no, I think I just had a... weird dream. It's gotten me all riled up I guess?
You really should just go back to sleep. [He'll realize in a second that he should just ask her for a glass of water so he can ESCAPE while she's doing that, but this fact doesn't register just yet.] You've gotta be sore from falling asleep on the couch.
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It could mean anything when he leans away, she tells herself. Like he just said, he could still be dealing with the aftermath of a weird dream. It doesn't have to mean that she did something to offend him while she was asleep. Or maybe he thought he couldn't leave her alone when she'd dozed off on the couch and had forced himself to try to stay here as well and it had led to an upsetting dream?
Or maybe he's coming down with something, but for someone who's always been so comfortable with proximity and contact, for him to move away now...
Haru can't entirely hide the hurt and confusion in her gaze for a second before she draws her hand back and shifts off the couch. ]
... I think you should probably try to sleep properly as well. Please don't bother yourself with me.
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Shit, that's the last thing he wanted. Offended is the last thing he's feeling.]
Haru, don't... Don't say it like that.
[Oh godddd, he reaches up to scrub a hand across his very warm face.]
It was just a real shitty dream. [Narrator voice: It was not. But when in doubt, lie.] I just need some time to recover.
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[ She looks a little abashed now, but at least she doesn't seem to be entertaining the thought that he intensely dislikes her for some inexplicable reason. Still... ]
You should sleep in your own bed, all right? I'll see you in the morning.
[ The later morning. What time is it, even? ]
And if you're feeling unwell at all by then, please let me know.
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[Like, he also doesn't want to be the first to stand up and head to their rooms. So there he sits, fingers vaguely gripping the corner of the blanket to keep himself remotely covered.
Even so, awkward or not, he'd feel weird leaving it at this. So he has to at least offer-]
...But hey. I had fun watching tonight.
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I did, too. Thank you for your wonderful company as always, Eddie-san. Good night.
[ And she'll move quietly to her room to give him all the time he needs to maybe not embarrass himself in front of his absolutely unwitting roommate. ]
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The smile he gives her, at least, is sincere enough when she retreats to her bedroom. Eddie hates to have left this on a weird note, but there’s just no getting around the kind of issues his body is giving him right now. He even offers her a goofy little wave as she departs.
As soon as she closes the door, he’s murmuring to himself under his breath—]
Shit, man. What’s wrong with you…
[And he’s going to go back to his bedroom, now.
The morning comes too quickly. He hasn’t slept all that great, and while it isn’t wholly because of worrisome reasons, Eddie fiddles with his hair as he emerges from the depths of his bedroom to see what’s going on in the apartment this morning, looking all fidgety. He seeks out Haru, because let’s be real — she probably gets up before him, anyway.]
Uhh, hey. Mornin’.
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Good morning, Eddie-san. I, ah...
[ She's definitely studying him. ]
... Did you not sleep very well?
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He clears his throat. Loudly. And stuffs his hands in his pajama pockets when Haru asks that of him.]
I'm f...ine. I'm fine.
[Beleiveable, right.]
Just, uh. Tossed and turned in my sleep a lot. Need some help out here?
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[ Sometimes she is mighty and sometimes she is not. ]
If you don't have any plans today, though, you could always take it easy. Or, ah... join me for tea?
[ It's a bit too formal, maybe. ]