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

[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.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not at all," Hannibal admitted, smiling a little wider. "Except perhaps for the part where breakfast took somewhat longer to eat than expected."

[furnaceface]

//The eggs had gone stone cold,// Jono noted, amused. //Eggs that good, gone that cold. Shame on us.//

It really hadn't been a disaster, all things considered.

[sharp_as_knives]

"A terrible shame," Hannibal agreed. "Also," he shook his head, "I can't believe the clothing I wore yesterday. You'll have to play me some of Metallica's music, so I know what that shirt was about."

[furnaceface]

... Ahahaha. Jono knew he should have rummaged a little more deeply for a shirt for Hannibal. Though, admittedly, at the time he hadn't really cared all that much.

//Well, that will be an... experience.// He scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. //I've got some on my phone. Glorified camera and music player, more like. Some of it, you might actually not hate.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Nor, at the time, had Hannibal. Honestly, the hotel hadn't been that far away.

Hannibal grimaced. "Perhaps with a more proper sound system later," he allowed.

Then a thought occurred to him. "And if anybody should have taken pictures, I would hope they not be shared any further." At least the squirrels didn't have that advantage.

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked, and then he fell silent, going still as the grave while a look of amusement was etched across his features.

He was laughing.

//Never occurred to me,// he admitted a moment later. //It's Karla or Rinoa you're going to have to watch out for, there. They're really more the sort to want to document something like that for posterity.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal snorted. "Karla has already got a picture of me in a leather kilt from one of the island's bouts of whimsy. I asked she promise not to show it to my acquaintances in Baltimore, or to my students. This shouldn't be more embarrassing than that."

[furnaceface]

//You wore it better than I do,// Jono sniffed. //I don't think 'embarrassing' is really the word for it.//

Okay, so, actually having a chest really helped with the wearing, and all. Congratulations, Hannibal. You had all of the standard anatomy that shirts tended to hang over.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal looked over Jono from head to toe, but more like a tailor than a partner. "You could wear clothes quite well, I think. You simply don't do yourself enough credit."

[furnaceface]

//... My chest is concave, Hannibal. I'm not exactly built to fill out a suit.//

Well, not unless he was focusing on filling out those wrappings of his, first.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Your chest is solid enough when you need it to be," Hannibal pointed out archly. "And a good suit is cut for the person wearing it. My suits would look abysmal on you, and a suit cut for you would look terrible on me."

He paused in getting everything into the pan and pointed at Jono with the spatula. "I could take you to a good tailor, and you would leave looking spectacular. Well," he amended with a mischievous grin, "perhaps a tailor and a barber."

[furnaceface]

//A barber? My hair is innocent, it hasn't done anything to hurt you,// Jono protested, eyes going wide. //What would you have a barber do?//

If it involved pie, Jono was out of there so fast.

[sharp_as_knives]

Jono, you had already let the cannibal tie you up. It was a bit late to be worrying about pie now.

Hannibal gave him a slightly exasperated look. "I doubt a trim would go amiss." His expression turned both canny and sympathetic. "When was the last time you pampered your body? Had a manicure or haircut or went to a spa?"

You had entirely too confrontational a relationship with your body, Jono.