Gourmet Suite at the Arms Hotel, Sunday morning

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal woke up, stretched, and blinked. Then gave himself a moment to appreciate the lack of any particularly overwhelming emotion this morning.

He looked over at the others in bed with him whoever ended up in the cuddle pile and chuckled. Well, it had been interesting, there was no denying that.

However, he had no intention of spending another day in Jono's clothing or his own pajamas, thank you.

He got up carefully, took a shower and dressed casually but in his own clothes, and headed out to start the coffee.

He had a feeling they might be needing it.

Comments

[furnaceface]

The first thing Jono was acutely aware of when he woke up this morning was the hard pokey thing digging into his shoulder. He furrowed his brow, loathe to wake up after a sleep that had been as pleasant as that, an attempted to ignore it for as long as possible before finally relenting and unwinding just enough bandages to remove the offending object - a crystal that looked just like any ordinary piece of glass. His shoulder seemed back to normal, and, as a result, so did his emotions, which had been doing some interesting somersaults over the course of the past few days.

He stared at the crystal for a few moments, idly winding his wrappings back around his shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding it, before sleepiness finally let him free and he became more aware of his surroundings. This was not his bed. In fact, this wasn't even his apartment. In fact, he'd spent a good chunk of Friday in this room, enjoying... er... breakfast.

Jono was going to get up in just a moment. But first, he needed to smack his forehead and contemplate just how many bones he'd probably break if he were to attempt an escape through the window.

Not worth it? Not worth it.

Sigh. He was just... yeah. He was going to attempt to wiggle out of the bed, then. Might as well make his way out into the living area and face the music.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal yawned and poured the coffee, then heard Jono and looked up.

He gave him a pleasant - though likely not as enthusiastic as the last couple of days - smile. "Good morning. Can I interest you in some shared coffee? I haven't made it so far as breakfast yet."

[furnaceface]

That half-second of hesitation was Jonothon pulling a sanity check. Would coffee lead to sex?

... Ignoring that Jono probably would have kissed Hannibal for this stuff on a normal day were he able, probably not.

//I'd love some,// he replied, with a somewhat subdued if not awkward nod before he made his way to the table. //Got something for you, by the way. Catch.//

Because Jono's hadn't been the only crystal in the bed, and he figured he probably shouldn't leave it there or anything. Hannibal's was being sent his way in a low underhand toss. It wasn't too early for that, was it?

[sharp_as_knives]

Not at all; Hannibal had excellent reflexes. He caught it, frowned at it, and put together a number of things from the past several days. "This is the culprit, then?" He tossed it on the counter and gave it a dirty look, then went looking for eggs.

[furnaceface]

//Apparently so,// Jono confirmed with a nod. //I was lucky enough to get one, as well. Neither of them seem to be anything more than crystal now, though. Just a pair of sparkly rocks. They must've exhausted themselves.//

Or Hannibal and Jono had done an excellent job of exhausting them. One of those things. Jono was going to stick with the former, thank you.

//Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe not being completely in control of my own mind? Because I really, really do.//

Though he certainly hadn't been complaining yesterday or Friday.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I assure you, you aren't alone in that, although you perhaps have regrettably more experience with it," Hannibal answered. He found eggs, cheese, and enough vegetables for a respectable frittata and started on it, in between sips of coffee.

"These things seem to have been in control of our emotions more than anything else," he noted. "They didn't force us to do anything, merely encouraged different aspects of us. Some more desirable than others." That day of worry had been horrid.

[furnaceface]

//Some far more than others,// Jono agreed. And then realized exactly how that probably sounded, and promptly directed his attention to the crystal in his hand. The inability to blush or even awkwardly clear his throat wasn't actually such a bad thing, really. //I'm not much of a fan of that day I spent angry.//

See? Clarification!

He... hadn't really noticed the worry day.

[sharp_as_knives]

Clarification was good, even if not necessarily needed; Hannibal was enough of an egotist had a strong enough sense of self-esteem to assume it wasn't the last two days.

"No," Hannibal agreed. "I shouldn't like to be that angry all the time. I suspect it isn't good for the blood pressure." Or other people's health, either. "And I spent one day horribly anxious over everything." He shrugged and chuckled. "While I'm now prepared for any number of likely and unlikely emergencies, I shouldn't like to repeat that, either."

[furnaceface]

//You had four days of this? I-- ah.// Jono reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Lovely. //My bout of anxiety must've been on Wednesday, then.//

Yes, he was well aware of how much that said about just how often he tended to emotionally bottom out.

//I wasn't nearly so productive, then. I think I fed the cat. Maybe I didn't. Rinoa might've.//

Or her rescue dog.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal didn't miss that, and he eyed Jono for a moment, but let it pass with a nod. "I suppose that at least the good days have had a chance to relax us after the bad ones." He took out a cutting board and chopped vegetables as he talked.

He gave Jono a smile. "That is generally the best that can be hoped for, isn't it?"

[furnaceface]

//Generally,// Jonothon agreed. //I wouldn't have wanted that dark mood of mine to come near the end when I was surrounded by people. That wouldn't have ended well in the least.//

Fire would have been involved, almost certainly. He'd had a difficult enough time not lighting Raven on fire when it had been only her.

//And yesterday was... nice. I haven't felt so at-ease with everything in a long while.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"It was very relaxing," Hannibal answered with a smile. Then couldn't resist, "Which some of us, not being young men, needed after the day before."

[furnaceface]

Jono couldn't even protest that he wasn't that young. Physically, he was.

He couldn't even cough awkwardly, as was appropriate following a comment like that, blast it. So he was stuck giving Hannibal a bit of a stinkeye, though there was really no heat in it. Hell, so far as looks like that went, this one was something pushing fond.

//That's not a complaint about the day before, is it?//

Look, if Hannibal was going to go there, Jono was going to tease right back.

[trigons_child]

Raven made a sleepy noise of protest when she felt movement in the bed and heard voices. This was the second night in a row of good sleep she'd had, free of nightmares or worry, and she was reluctant to open her eyes.

After a moment she did push herself up, blinking in confusion as she looked around the room. Her head was fuzzy with the effects of an emotional hangover of sorts, but she did quickly sort out what had happened over the past few days, and how she'd ended up here.

"...oh," was all she could say.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon wasn't in the room anymore, no, but that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention to whether or not people were still sleeping in there. It was only a few moments after her "Oh" that he was peering his head back into the room.

//Morning, Sunshine,// he said, in a voice that was for her to hear and nobody else. //Sleep well...?//

And my, what a lovely awkward morning this was, wasn't it?

[trigons_child]

Raven looked to Jono and gave him a half-hearted smile and a nod. She had a lot of mixed feelings running through her head. Anger for allowing herself to get caught up in the effects of the crystals, even secondhand. Longing for the feelings of yesterday, so calm and unafraid of the future. And more than a touch of embarrassment that she'd gotten so emotional with Jono on Friday. She'd been very careful to keep that part of their relationship strictly physical.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. How are you doing? she asked, trying to focus her thoughts. She hadn't talked to him like this in awhile.

[furnaceface]

Jono reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystal, giving it a little wave for her to see.

//I'm no longer some sort of weird crystal-thrall, so I'll count that as a win. Mixed feelings about returning to normal after yesterday's mood, though.// He shrugged his shoulders, stuffing the crystal back into his pocket and looking at least almost as awkward as he felt about it. //Felt good to just not care for a while. You know?//

[trigons_child]

Raven padded over to him, holding her hand out for the crystal. "May I see it?" she asked. She wanted to make certain that it was truly inert.

"And I know," she said softly. "It did free so very good."

[furnaceface]

Jono considered her hand for a moment, and then nodded, digging into his pocket and pulling out the stone again.

//Nice while it lasted, I suppose,// he murmured, placing the crystal into her hand. //Something to work toward, perhaps. Today feels almost stifling in comparison.//

[trigons_child]

She couldn't feel any emotions radiating from the crystal now; it did feel inert, as if it had exhausted its power or run its course. "It does seem to be dormant now," she said. "But it might be wise to destroy it or place it somewhere hidden in case it does become active again."

Normally she hated not being in control of her emotions, but the past two days had been so pleasant, it was hard to be upset. "Something to work for, yes," she agreed. She missed that feeling of calm, something she hadn't experienced in a very long time, something that hardly seemed possible now.

And then she remembered promising Hannibal she'd come speak to him if her fears about the future returned, and wondered if he was going to hold her to that promise.

[furnaceface]

//I'll take a hammer to it later, perhaps,// Jono replied, nodding a little. //Last thing I need is another 'angry' day.//

Really, it had been almost worth it for the happy days that came afterwards, but not so much that he'd be willing to risk a repeat.

//How're you holding in there?//

[trigons_child]

"I am all right," Raven said. "A little...unsettled. I should not have allowed myself to get caught up as I did. Though it was enjoyable."

She blushed a little and turned her head in Hannibal's direction before looking back to Jono. "What about you? Are you all right with everything that happened?" There was more than one thing she was referring to there.

[furnaceface]

//A few days' reprieve from being incessantly worried all of the time was nice,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders a little and looking... only slightly awkward over the question. //As for the rest? It was rather enjoyable as well. Little weird. But quite enjoyable.//

Hannibal was no Bowie. Which was probably for the best. Jono wouldn't have survived another go with Bowie without just imploding. And Friday morning with Raven? He had no regrets there, either.

[trigons_child]

Raven gave him a tiny smile. "I think I complained to both of you about not being included," she said. "I was merely teasing, though. I was pleased you had had...a good time."

Though technically, she did owe Jono a threesome, didn't she?

[furnaceface]

He hadn't forgotten!

//If you hadn't been sleeping so soundly, you probably would have gotten an invitation,// Jono admitted. //I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind.//