[ There's no emotional force behind the words. They're just words, said because they're the proper response. It's like Jim asking to come in and Poe saying Yeah, sure. Desire doesn't really factor into it: it's preprogrammed social expectation. ]
[ She knows that kind of response. She's seen and heard it from Matt more than a few times. Her mouth presses into a thin line as she tries not to say anything to push. She gestures to the small television, instead. ]
You can turn that on if you want. It's not bad for background noise.
[ Moving into the kitchenette to start getting the eggs and bread ready, ]
Not sure I get the shows but at least it's not re-runs of Cheers or something.
[ A flicker of presence behind his eyes. Curiosity. ] Cheers?
[ He switches the television on, rolling through the channels twice before he realizes he's done it, and then just... leaving it on something with cats. That seems safe.
He watches it for a few seconds before drifting back to her bed. Instead of laying down in it, he sits on the floor, back against one of the legs. ]
Yeah, um. It's a show where I'm from. What we call a "sitcom", short for "situational comedy".
[ She's more focused on what she's doing with the food but talking about this seems good for her, too. Better to talk about something like this than try to press something that they already argued about before.
(And the absence of Matt and Frank has her feeling a little cagey with people she knows in general.) ]
Which is a fancy way of saying 'a comedy where things happen to people' and Cheers was a show that took place in a bar and was about this group of friends that always hung out at this bar, one of them being the owner. It was... actually pretty funny for a while. Was on tv for years and years.
Did they have anything like that in your universe?
[ He only half-hears what she's saying. It's a little like with Finn, in the hospital--the sound of a familiar voice grounding him more than anything else. Poe closes his eyes, letting her voice wash through him, fill every dark place with something that's only ever been a part of his light.
It takes a few second of silence for him to realize she asked him a question. ] Mmm? Oh. Yeah, yeah we did, we do, on the Holonet, we have... [ A tiny gesture. ] All of that. Sitcoms, dramas, news. Even those television trial shows, like the one here in the morning sometimes--Judge Judy. Never understood the appeal of those.
[ His back twinges, a phantom pain. Poe shifts to try and get more comfortable.
Hesitation, then: ] Can you... Do you mind just talking? It doesn't have to be about anything important. It doesn't have to be about anything.
[ She's about to ask him what kind of dramas and sitcoms but then he's asking her to keep talking and while she pauses long enough to look at him, seeing something there that she's seen a few times when looking in the mirror, she just nods and looks back to the stove top. ]
Sure.
[ A beat before she tries to pick up where he left off. ]
The appeal for those courtroom shows, usually, is just watching to see people get in trouble or squabble before a judge and then see the judge snap at them or smack them down if they get uppity. I watched a few one day when I was bored. Ended up turning it to another channel and found a show called Unsolved Mysteries which ended up creeping me out more than anything else. And yet, it was super addicting to watch; wanting to find out what they would cover next, you know?
Though... this whole thing puts those episodes about alien abduction into a whole new light...
He sounds (he is) half-asleep when he says it. He's in that gray place between unconsciousness and waking, that peaceful drifting feeling that's been so elusive without the hospital's drugs forcing him down. He doesn't realize his eyes are closed until he shifts a little, lashes fluttering.
He's on the leaning edge of a balance, tilting toward sleep. ]
[ He makes a little grumbling noise and hauls himself back to his feet, eyes closing briefly even as he stands up. ]
Fine. You win.
[ He peels his shoes off, tossing them over by the door instead of leaving them in the middle of her floor. Then he just stands there for a second. Because he's tired enough that his brain is only processing in increments.
[ She had meant to help him to his feet if he needed it but he's already up and looking like he might fall asleep on his feet. She reaches over to steady him only to step back to let him get his shoes off.
She's torn between laughing and being sympathetic; she knows what it's like to feel so exhausted. Karen wonders if he's slept at all since leaving the hospital.
After he's flopped down on the bed, she nods, pulling one of the blankets over him, ]
[ He closes his eyes, enjoying the feel of the blankets being drawn up without effort on his part. The pillow smells like her, like flowers he's never seen but that are somehow still familiar.
He reaches out from under the blanket and catches her hand in his, keeping her from walking away. And Poe just... looks at her. He should say something. One deep breath, two.
His eyelids flutter, close, and he's asleep while still holding her hand. ]
[ She stills when he grabs her hand, waiting for him to say something. But then he's falling back asleep and she just smiles, her hand giving his a small squeeze, her voice quiet. ]
[ He sleeps for an hour or so without dreaming. Without even really moving.
The dream starts the way it has many times over, with a soreness in his wrists, shackled and chafing as he's dragged through the halls of the Finalizer. This time things go a little differently--instead of an interrogation room, he's brought to an open place with trees, snow falling lightly, and left there alone. A stormtrooper without a helmet, Finn, it's Finn, comes jogging through the trees, white armor shining in the darkness.
Run, the dream-Finn yells. Run!
A ribbon of red flares to life behind him, too close for Poe to do anything about it.
When he wakes up, it's with the sound of a lightsaber ignition crackling in his ears, and he flails under her blankets, yelling a warning to Finn. ]
[ Eventually, she lets go of his hand and goes back to finish the sandwiches. She has one herself and sets the other aside in her small fridge, hoping he'll eat it later. In between watching tv and reading files while she eats, she glances over at him every few minutes, checking to make sure everything is alright.
She's in the middle of writing up bits of her report when he starts shifting on the bed. She doesn't notice immediately, concentrating on what she's writing with a singular kind of focus.
But then Poe is very much awake and it startles her completely out of her work, dropping her pen and turning to him. She leaves her chair without hesitation, ]
[ She can't hide the concern on her face, only faltering for a moment before she sits down on the edge of the bed beside him, her voice soft, reaching out to touch one of his arms. ]
[ She takes her hand back, crossing her arms and needing to look away. It's all too familiar with her own nightmares and she feels at a loss at how to comfort or console him. ]
[ Something else is bothering her, but Poe can't guess at what. He can't even summon the will to argue as much as he'd like.
Maybe it's because they haven't really lied to each other, at any moment in their short friendship. Understood without speaking, without elaboration, but never deliberately left anything out. Poe sits up enough to prop himself on one elbow.]
Me, Finn, and Rey--I don't think any of us have slept through a night, here. If I get lucky, I go four hours at a stretch. I haven't slept really well in a long time. [ Except on Yavin 4, in his little room, with his dad half a hallway away. The one place in the galaxy that is wholly and completely his, other than Black One's cockpit. ] Sometimes it's dreams, sometimes it's just adrenaline, but I'm fine. I'm okay.
[ He's a pilot in a war. Of course, it would be normal to him to go in small stretches. And she can't suggest for him to possibly take something for sleep when it's just natural for him to do that. She gets that part.
It's the waking up screaming and reaching for - for fighting off - something that isn't' there that hits her deeply. She knows that there is nothing 'okay' about that, no matter how many times she's tried to tell herself it is. It's part of the reason she doesn't really want to bring anyone home (along with not trusting many people).
She closes her eyes and gives her head the smallest shake, resisting the urge to argue further. ]
[ Well he messed something up. Poe shoves the blanket back and swings his bare feet around to the floor, reaching out to grab her hand lightly before she can get too far away. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 01:56 am (UTC)[ There's no emotional force behind the words. They're just words, said because they're the proper response. It's like Jim asking to come in and Poe saying Yeah, sure. Desire doesn't really factor into it: it's preprogrammed social expectation. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 06:26 am (UTC)You can turn that on if you want. It's not bad for background noise.
[ Moving into the kitchenette to start getting the eggs and bread ready, ]
Not sure I get the shows but at least it's not re-runs of Cheers or something.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 06:50 am (UTC)[ He switches the television on, rolling through the channels twice before he realizes he's done it, and then just... leaving it on something with cats. That seems safe.
He watches it for a few seconds before drifting back to her bed. Instead of laying down in it, he sits on the floor, back against one of the legs. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 07:40 am (UTC)[ She's more focused on what she's doing with the food but talking about this seems good for her, too. Better to talk about something like this than try to press something that they already argued about before.
(And the absence of Matt and Frank has her feeling a little cagey with people she knows in general.) ]
Which is a fancy way of saying 'a comedy where things happen to people' and Cheers was a show that took place in a bar and was about this group of friends that always hung out at this bar, one of them being the owner. It was... actually pretty funny for a while. Was on tv for years and years.
Did they have anything like that in your universe?
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 07:57 am (UTC)It takes a few second of silence for him to realize she asked him a question. ] Mmm? Oh. Yeah, yeah we did, we do, on the Holonet, we have... [ A tiny gesture. ] All of that. Sitcoms, dramas, news. Even those television trial shows, like the one here in the morning sometimes--Judge Judy. Never understood the appeal of those.
[ His back twinges, a phantom pain. Poe shifts to try and get more comfortable.
Hesitation, then: ] Can you... Do you mind just talking? It doesn't have to be about anything important. It doesn't have to be about anything.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 09:06 am (UTC)Sure.
[ A beat before she tries to pick up where he left off. ]
The appeal for those courtroom shows, usually, is just watching to see people get in trouble or squabble before a judge and then see the judge snap at them or smack them down if they get uppity. I watched a few one day when I was bored. Ended up turning it to another channel and found a show called Unsolved Mysteries which ended up creeping me out more than anything else. And yet, it was super addicting to watch; wanting to find out what they would cover next, you know?
Though... this whole thing puts those episodes about alien abduction into a whole new light...
[ TO SAY THE LEAST. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 08:58 pm (UTC)[ BRINGING THE JOKES.
He sounds (he is) half-asleep when he says it. He's in that gray place between unconsciousness and waking, that peaceful drifting feeling that's been so elusive without the hospital's drugs forcing him down. He doesn't realize his eyes are closed until he shifts a little, lashes fluttering.
He's on the leaning edge of a balance, tilting toward sleep. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 09:19 pm (UTC)We already do plenty of that on Earth. This is a whole new level.
[ But the reaction to his tone is late, looking back over once she gets the eggs off the stove. She frowns a little, ]
Poe, are you falling asleep?
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 10:19 pm (UTC)Bullshit. Come on, up. Get on the bed. If you're going to sleep, at least sleep there and not my floor.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-23 11:01 pm (UTC)Fine. You win.
[ He peels his shoes off, tossing them over by the door instead of leaving them in the middle of her floor. Then he just stands there for a second. Because he's tired enough that his brain is only processing in increments.
Poe shakes himself. ] Bed.
[ Like it's a self-issued order.
And he flops down on it. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 02:40 am (UTC)She's torn between laughing and being sympathetic; she knows what it's like to feel so exhausted. Karen wonders if he's slept at all since leaving the hospital.
After he's flopped down on the bed, she nods, pulling one of the blankets over him, ]
Bed. That's an order, Commander.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 02:51 am (UTC)He reaches out from under the blanket and catches her hand in his, keeping her from walking away. And Poe just... looks at her. He should say something. One deep breath, two.
His eyelids flutter, close, and he's asleep while still holding her hand. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 03:39 am (UTC)I'm not going anywhere.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 03:55 am (UTC)The dream starts the way it has many times over, with a soreness in his wrists, shackled and chafing as he's dragged through the halls of the Finalizer. This time things go a little differently--instead of an interrogation room, he's brought to an open place with trees, snow falling lightly, and left there alone. A stormtrooper without a helmet, Finn, it's Finn, comes jogging through the trees, white armor shining in the darkness.
Run, the dream-Finn yells. Run!
A ribbon of red flares to life behind him, too close for Poe to do anything about it.
When he wakes up, it's with the sound of a lightsaber ignition crackling in his ears, and he flails under her blankets, yelling a warning to Finn. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 04:31 am (UTC)She's in the middle of writing up bits of her report when he starts shifting on the bed. She doesn't notice immediately, concentrating on what she's writing with a singular kind of focus.
But then Poe is very much awake and it startles her completely out of her work, dropping her pen and turning to him. She leaves her chair without hesitation, ]
Hey, hey! Poe! You're okay, it's okay.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 04:35 am (UTC)[ He's in Karen's room. He's in Karen's bed. He's more tired than he was when he fell asleep.
Poe presses his knuckles against his eyes until he sees stars. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 04:50 am (UTC)It was just a dream.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 05:51 am (UTC)[ He lets his hands drop. ] That's. Not new. Worse lately, I'm usually better about being quiet.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-24 06:59 am (UTC)"Worse" since that guy got here?
no subject
Date: 2017-12-25 04:07 am (UTC)I'm okay.
[ Which isn't an answer, which is an answer, in its own way. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-25 06:03 am (UTC)You were falling asleep on my floor and then woke up screaming. I don't think that says "I'm okay".
You don't have to talk about it but don't brush it off like it's nothing, okay.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-25 06:32 am (UTC)Maybe it's because they haven't really lied to each other, at any moment in their short friendship. Understood without speaking, without elaboration, but never deliberately left anything out. Poe sits up enough to prop himself on one elbow.]
Me, Finn, and Rey--I don't think any of us have slept through a night, here. If I get lucky, I go four hours at a stretch. I haven't slept really well in a long time. [ Except on Yavin 4, in his little room, with his dad half a hallway away. The one place in the galaxy that is wholly and completely his, other than Black One's cockpit. ] Sometimes it's dreams, sometimes it's just adrenaline, but I'm fine. I'm okay.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-25 07:00 am (UTC)It's the waking up screaming and reaching for - for fighting off - something that isn't' there that hits her deeply. She knows that there is nothing 'okay' about that, no matter how many times she's tried to tell herself it is. It's part of the reason she doesn't really want to bring anyone home (along with not trusting many people).
She closes her eyes and gives her head the smallest shake, resisting the urge to argue further. ]
Whatever you say.
[ She pushes herself back up from the bed. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-25 09:03 pm (UTC)What? Karen. What did I do?
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