The past is present [rp for lapsedsaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

Charlotte slept wrapped so tightly around John she wasn’t sure where she left off and he started. She didn’t remember being so tired, not since the first days on her own. That sense that everything could come down around her ears was the same, too. Her dreams were disjointed, filled with images of her childhood home and their flat in New York.

When they both woke at dawn, Charlotte didn’t let John stay up. He didn’t look much better after sleep than he had when they went to sleep. With firm kisses she informed him that if she saw him again before noon, she’d kick his ass back to bed. She was stunned when he went without complaint, both kittens following obediently behind him.

She knew she should go with him, but instead she went to find her computer and make a stab at keeping up with her business. What she ended up doing, instead, was having a long overdue chat with Eothian. What happened next she chalked up to too little sleep and too much worry.

After talking to Eothian’s mysterious friend, she sat with her head on her arms for a long time, absolutely and completely undone by the fact that she’d done something so outlandish. Finally she lifted her head and went looking for a shovel picture as some small bit of penance.

Comments

[lapsedsaint]

He did as she insisted and made his way out into the living room some time before one. His eyes hurt and he rubbed them as he wandered, trying not to trip over anything.

He found her hunched near her computer and frowned at her. "Baby?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She hit send on the shovel post before turning to respond, leaving the image up on the screen as she reached for him. "Hey, sleepy head. How are you feeling?"

She looked him over carefully, trying to tell for herself how he was.

[lapsedsaint]

"Eyes hurt. And I think I have fur in my mouth." He smiled at her, then eyed the shovel on her screen. "Burying bodies?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"If you have fur in your mouth, look to the monsters. My hips stayed even with yours all night." She blushed bright red when she heard that out loud. It sounded much dirtier than it had in her mind.

"Yes. Mine. I'm probably going to need a bigger shovel, though."

[lapsedsaint]

He smiled slowly, his eyebrows raised high on his forehead. "I don't know... I had this dream..."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She threw a wadded up napkin at him, which was better than her coffee, the next closest thing. "Cute. Really cute."

She grabbed for his hand and pulled him closer. "Come kiss me, you dirty old man."

[lapsedsaint]

He went to her and kissed her softly, pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arms around her. He frowned slightly as he pulled back. "Why are you burying yourself?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She hugged him back against her, putting her head on his shoulder. Her face was still red. "I did a stupid, juvenile thing and expect a friend will want to beat me, if not outright kill me." She shrugged. "Thought I'd just beat him to it."

[lapsedsaint]

He kissed her forehead. "What did you do?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She hugged him even closer, moving one hand down toward his ass. After a long moment she laughed. "Wow, there is no way to say this without sounding fifteen." She shook her head. "I told a complete and utter stranger that my friend has a deep attraction for him. A crush."

[lapsedsaint]

He started laughing softly and hugged her a little more tightly. "It was nice knowing you, Charlie."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She smacked his ass. "Thank you very much! My hero." She shook her head. "My only defense is that the object of his affection seemed more bewildered than anything else. Certainly not offended or disgusted." She puffed up a little. "If he'd been that, it wouldn't be my grave we'd be digging."

[lapsedsaint]

He frowned at the smack. "Well, what did you want me to say?" He gave her another kiss, then pulled back a little. "There any coffee left?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"That you would defend me. Even from my own impulsive foolishness." She patted the chair she'd left and nodded. "There's plenty. I'll get it."

She grabbed her cup to refresh it and went to get him coffee. "Are you hungry?"

[lapsedsaint]

He sat down in her chair and turned to her computer. "No, babe, I'm not." He was very rarely hungry these days, a result of the headaches. Still, he paused a moment, then added, "maybe some toast." Hopefully that would head off her chiding of him.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Toast might be all there was in the house they'd already closed back up once. She nodded and went to see what she could find. With some work she found enough to make not just toast but cinnamon toast.

She presented it to him with a bit of a flourish, coffee first.

[lapsedsaint]

He had just finished checking his accounts when she came back with the coffee. Nothing had been frozen yet.

He turned toward her and pulled her into his lap before he took a sip of the coffee. "We should go to the store today."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"If you'd like anything more than toast for dinner, yes, we should." She rested her head on his shoulder, frowning when she saw what he'd been looking at. "And we should make a plan of attack for while we're here."

She touched the edge of the laptop. "Do you get paid medical leave or are things getting tight?"

[lapsedsaint]

He nuzzled her shoulder and nodded. "Things are fine. They don't seem to care that we're here."

He started on the toast, offering her a bite after he'd had a few. "We should make a list."

[aesthetic_mojo]

His answer wasn't a comfort. Instead it chilled her. "What would they do if they did care?" She shuddered. "No, don't tell me. I'm not ready for that."

She took only one bite, then went to work on his neck instead. "Two lists. Shopping and investigating."

[lapsedsaint]

He shivered and tilted his head to the side. "What are we investigating?"

He gave up eating and turned more toward her. He kissed her slowly and smiled against her lips.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She nuzzled at his lips for a while before pulling back to answer. "We're investigating you, darling. Even with every medical test known to man, we're still missing a big part of the picture." She kissed him quickly. "We need to know more about your abilities."

[lapsedsaint]

He shifted her in his lap and raised an eyebrow. "What if no one knows? What if..." He shrugged and kissed her shoulder.

[aesthetic_mojo]

"Then we don't find anything. That in itself could be something." She shrugged. "We have to try, though. It's too important not to."

She sat there for a long moment,then sighed softly. "I just can't forget how you didn't even know you were doing it. How you turned the room into a fridge and were oblivious."

[lapsedsaint]

He sighed softly and pressed against her again, not really commenting. Those times were still complete blanks. He had no memories of any of the times he'd been told he'd done that.