she doesn't, really, not for herself, but she also knows she'll probably appreciate the bracing warmth once she has it. and he looks like he could use it.
rather than climb into bed, she shifts forward enough to peck him on the lips before standing, moving around the room with easy familiarity. soon enough she's got some water heating, and has gathered two tea bags and two mugs.
with all that ready she sits on the edge of the bed as she waits for the water to finish heating, head tilted to one side as she runs idle fingers through her hair. ]
I do like these lights, [ she murmurs softly. ] They're rather pretty. [ and soothing, besides. ]
I felt a little silly putting them up, but they've grown on me.
[ He probably shouldn't feel self-conscious about it, considering everything, but he can't help but find the idea of a Ten Shadows technique user wanting a night light to be kind of ridiculous.
But with the lights on, now, he's gotten to the point of being able to crack a joke about it, which is some kind of progress.
Sukuna's taken enough from him. He can't let him take the darkness, too. ]
What's silly? They're lovely, and they make me feel better.
[ she knows they're not for her. but she is being truthful, and maybe it will make him feel a little better, too, to have some of the focus drawn off himself.
once the water is ready, she stands and prepares their mugs. she'll bring Megumi his, then go rifling around for one more thing: a rare and precious bottle of honey, a gift she gave him not long after they started up this little routine of theirs. she'll bring that over, along with her own mug, and settle in at his side. ]
I only wish they came in other colors. That's just me being picky, of course.
[ Megumi doesn't actually mind unsweetened tea -- he takes his coffee black, after all -- but since she gave him the honey, he's taken to using it. Not much, given his tastes, but the effort she put into finding it deserves the acknowledgment.
So just a touch of that, and he gently tilts the mug enough to get the tea swirling enough to mix it in before he takes a sip. ]
I know colored ones exist. I didn't see them when I was looking, but they're pretty seasonal. They probably weren't stocked up when everything went to hell.
[ truthfully, she takes her coffee the same way. but having sweetened tea feels like a luxury in their situation, and she draws some comfort from the familiarity of it. she'd had that thought in mind when she brought it back for him; maybe he wouldn't mind a little familiar sweetness, either.
she'd does the same with her own tea before setting the honey aside, taking small, grateful sips. she'd been right; the piping hot tea is bracing. ]
I'll have to see what I can find. [ with a gentleness that indicates she's mostly teasing. but only mostly.
How cold. Do you mean to say you wouldn't appreciate every gift from me, no matter what it was? I'm hurt.
[ she's not. she's contentedly leaning into his side, finally feeling normal again as the residue of the nightmares that drove her here evaporates in the warmth between them. ]
I guess I'll just have to find blue, [ she'll sigh, terribly put upon. ]
An easy feat for your talents at sourcing and acquisition, no?
[ He shifts his mug into one hand, his other arm slipping around her waist.
He hasn't had nightmares tonight. Tonight's been one of the nights he just can't get to sleep at all, when he lies awake and counts to stupidly high numbers and tries not to think about the things that come to haunt him when the lights go out.
I mean, eventually? But I'm not that tired right now, to be honest.
[ He recognizes that if he doesn't get at least a solid four hours, he's going to hate himself in the morning, regardless of whether he thinks he's tired now.
[ she's skipped sleep before, sometimes more than one night in a row, though it's miserable and brutal on her body. better that and get things done than pointlessly waste her own time.
whenever they finish their tea—probably a few minutes later at most—she'll set their mugs aside. whoever wakes up first can take them to the dorm kitchen to clean. neither of them is going out this late, that's for sure.
this leaves only crawling into bed, which she does first. and, once there, she simply, wordlessly, opens her arms. ]
[ He slips in next to her, moving close and reaching up to brush her hair out of her face.
It's still a little surreal when he thinks about it by daylight, that he's settled into something like this so quickly and so easily. Megumi's used to holding himself apart even from the people who he's closest to. Close was vulnerable, close meant getting hurt when people left. Because people did leave, whether they meant to or not.
But he was never really as alone as he thought he was, even when people left. It wasn't until he was trapped inside himself, at the bottom of an ocean of blood, that he really understood what being alone felt like.
And it felt terrifying.
Maybe he's going to be running from that feeling for the rest of his life. He'd like to think otherwise, but in the dark, when it's quiet and nobody's next to him, it's hard to imagine feeling safe again. Not feeling alone.
But Lortel is soft and warm and real, and she didn't leave him even when any sane person would've. ]
[ it's that closeness she craves, more than anything else. a warm presence at her side, so that she's not alone if she wakes gasping, adrenaline pounding. maybe it's the fear of being alone that invites her nightmares in to begin with. the stress, the dread of it, the loneliness that lives in the dark.
maybe he feels the same way. she doesn't know. she simply slips a loose arm around his back and tilts her face into his touch. ]
Better? [ Lortel nuzzles his cheek, pressing a fleeting kiss to his skin as she does so. ]
[ she kisses him a few more times, chaste pecks to his cheek and nose and chin.
Much.
her heart thrums a little traitorously, given the not-wholly-ideal circumstances. she can't help it, though. she loves him, a little bit, not that she consciously realizes it herself. it's the thinnest, gentlest thread of warmhearted devotion in their tether, her love. ]
Good, [ she hums, tucking her head beneath his chin and pulling him closer, as if she can eliminate any space left between them. ]
Then, will you sing me a lullaby?
[ she's teasing, more to distract and amuse him than any actual desire for such a thing. ]
I'd have to even remember one first, so...yes, that's a no.
[ There wasn't much of that in his conscious memory, after all.
(There's a few notes of some mostly-forgotten...something, that he recognized on a deeper level when Toji and Subaru were pulling him back from the edge of succumbence. But it was fleeting, just enough to stir something in him and turn him in the right direction. Nothing he can call up at will.) ]
[ the only times they get to have their actual powers.
she presses a kiss to his neck. ]
That's what I mean. It's almost like you want me to stay~.
[ with gentle teasing. she wouldn't be able to leave his dorm for a week if she made an actual attempt at counting those, never mind simply sleeping. ]
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she doesn't, really, not for herself, but she also knows she'll probably appreciate the bracing warmth once she has it. and he looks like he could use it.
rather than climb into bed, she shifts forward enough to peck him on the lips before standing, moving around the room with easy familiarity. soon enough she's got some water heating, and has gathered two tea bags and two mugs.
with all that ready she sits on the edge of the bed as she waits for the water to finish heating, head tilted to one side as she runs idle fingers through her hair. ]
I do like these lights, [ she murmurs softly. ] They're rather pretty. [ and soothing, besides. ]
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[ He probably shouldn't feel self-conscious about it, considering everything, but he can't help but find the idea of a Ten Shadows technique user wanting a night light to be kind of ridiculous.
But with the lights on, now, he's gotten to the point of being able to crack a joke about it, which is some kind of progress.
Sukuna's taken enough from him. He can't let him take the darkness, too. ]
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[ she knows they're not for her. but she is being truthful, and maybe it will make him feel a little better, too, to have some of the focus drawn off himself.
once the water is ready, she stands and prepares their mugs. she'll bring Megumi his, then go rifling around for one more thing: a rare and precious bottle of honey, a gift she gave him not long after they started up this little routine of theirs. she'll bring that over, along with her own mug, and settle in at his side. ]
I only wish they came in other colors. That's just me being picky, of course.
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So just a touch of that, and he gently tilts the mug enough to get the tea swirling enough to mix it in before he takes a sip. ]
I know colored ones exist. I didn't see them when I was looking, but they're pretty seasonal. They probably weren't stocked up when everything went to hell.
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she'd does the same with her own tea before setting the honey aside, taking small, grateful sips. she'd been right; the piping hot tea is bracing. ]
I'll have to see what I can find. [ with a gentleness that indicates she's mostly teasing. but only mostly.
she's definitely going to go look. ]
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I reserve my right of refusal on anything you do find. [ A pause. ] Blue wouldn't be bad, though.
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she won't say so, though. ]
How cold. Do you mean to say you wouldn't appreciate every gift from me, no matter what it was? I'm hurt.
[ she's not. she's contentedly leaning into his side, finally feeling normal again as the residue of the nightmares that drove her here evaporates in the warmth between them. ]
I guess I'll just have to find blue, [ she'll sigh, terribly put upon. ]
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[ He shifts his mug into one hand, his other arm slipping around her waist.
He hasn't had nightmares tonight. Tonight's been one of the nights he just can't get to sleep at all, when he lies awake and counts to stupidly high numbers and tries not to think about the things that come to haunt him when the lights go out.
This is so much better. ]
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Flatterer. As if such cheap tactics would work on me.
[ spoiler: they absolutely work.
his arm around her waist is met with blushing warmth in the murmur and rewarded with a kiss to the cheek.
speaking of their respective inabilities to sleep! ]
Are we trying to get any sleep tonight? Or no?
[ it's varied. she doesn't mind either way, if only because she's with him. her nightmares haven't chased her all the way into his arms, yet. ]
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[ He recognizes that if he doesn't get at least a solid four hours, he's going to hate himself in the morning, regardless of whether he thinks he's tired now.
But that's still a bit off. ]
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[ she's skipped sleep before, sometimes more than one night in a row, though it's miserable and brutal on her body. better that and get things done than pointlessly waste her own time.
whenever they finish their tea—probably a few minutes later at most—she'll set their mugs aside. whoever wakes up first can take them to the dorm kitchen to clean. neither of them is going out this late, that's for sure.
this leaves only crawling into bed, which she does first. and, once there, she simply, wordlessly, opens her arms. ]
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It's still a little surreal when he thinks about it by daylight, that he's settled into something like this so quickly and so easily. Megumi's used to holding himself apart even from the people who he's closest to. Close was vulnerable, close meant getting hurt when people left. Because people did leave, whether they meant to or not.
But he was never really as alone as he thought he was, even when people left. It wasn't until he was trapped inside himself, at the bottom of an ocean of blood, that he really understood what being alone felt like.
And it felt terrifying.
Maybe he's going to be running from that feeling for the rest of his life. He'd like to think otherwise, but in the dark, when it's quiet and nobody's next to him, it's hard to imagine feeling safe again. Not feeling alone.
But Lortel is soft and warm and real, and she didn't leave him even when any sane person would've. ]
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maybe he feels the same way. she doesn't know. she simply slips a loose arm around his back and tilts her face into his touch. ]
Better? [ Lortel nuzzles his cheek, pressing a fleeting kiss to his skin as she does so. ]
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[ His eyes flutter closed and he sighs softly. Better can hardly encompass it.
This is the difference between living and simply dreading the prospect of living. ]
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Much.
her heart thrums a little traitorously, given the not-wholly-ideal circumstances. she can't help it, though. she loves him, a little bit, not that she consciously realizes it herself. it's the thinnest, gentlest thread of warmhearted devotion in their tether, her love. ]
Good, [ she hums, tucking her head beneath his chin and pulling him closer, as if she can eliminate any space left between them. ]
Then, will you sing me a lullaby?
[ she's teasing, more to distract and amuse him than any actual desire for such a thing. ]
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He really hopes she's joking. ]
Hey. Weren't we trying to avoid nightmares with this?
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[ whether she is or not doesn't mean she will so easily let him off the hook. ]
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[ There wasn't much of that in his conscious memory, after all.
(There's a few notes of some mostly-forgotten...something, that he recognized on a deeper level when Toji and Subaru were pulling him back from the edge of succumbence. But it was fleeting, just enough to stir something in him and turn him in the right direction. Nothing he can call up at will.) ]
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[ lovingly. ]
How will I ever fall asleep, then...
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[ Although, actually. He may not be able to actually call his shikigami here, but...
He pauses for a moment to focus on a memory, and pushes the image towards her in the murmur. ]
Or you could try these.
1/2
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the arm she has around him tightens its curl in a fit of affection as she nuzzles into his neck. maybe he can feel her grinning against his skin. ]
I might have to stay here a few extra nights if I tried to count all of those.
[ a beat. ]
... so, "rabbit escape"?
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[ Thus, the absolutely ridiculous and ever-increasing quantity. ]
I've never tried to count. I'm not sure it's actually possible.
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[ the only times they get to have their actual powers.
she presses a kiss to his neck. ]
That's what I mean. It's almost like you want me to stay~.
[ with gentle teasing. she wouldn't be able to leave his dorm for a week if she made an actual attempt at counting those, never mind simply sleeping. ]
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[ As if she would. He knows she'll damned well hold him to anything he promises. ]
Not my primary intention, but...I wouldn't complain.
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