Hannibal's house, Monday

[sharp_as_knives]

Apparently, as misguided as Squall's birthday gift to him had been, Rinoa's was worse - whatever it was that had laid her low had been duly passed on, and Hannibal found himself miserably sick. Really, some things weren't fair.

He was currently in a very warm bed, with a very warm cat (who didn't seem to care he could barely breathe) on his feet, a tablet in his hands, and plenty of warm tea and cold medicine inside him. He was debating the benefits of cooking something versus going back to sleep versus engaging in a bit of scathing criticism of some of the idiots on the APA message boards.

A sick Hannibal was a bored Hannibal.


[OOC: I wanna be at home in bed with cats. I can't be, so he is. Open post!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

//Not busy at all,// Jono replied easily. //I've got nowhere to be until Friday when I teach, here's as good a place to be as any. I can't imagine you handle boredom any better than I do, do you?//

Well. Hannibal was probably at least less prone to self-flagellation than Jono was.

[sharp_as_knives]

He was. Which left him with one fewer thing to do!

"I don't enjoy it, no." Hannibal lifted the tablet in demonstration. "Fortunately I've things to do, but it still wears a bit after a while." He smiled at Jono. "So you wanted to work out the details of our bets?" He nodded at Jono's nicer-than-usual clothing. "If you think you're starting early, I should point out that wearing clothing I picked for you months ago doesn't count."

[furnaceface]

//Maybe it's laundry day,// Jono replied, a bit of a smile settling in around his eyes, //and I didn't have any other options.//

It really was a nice expensive-jeans-and-also-ridiculously-expensive-shirt combo that he was wearing. Once Jono had found out that Hannibal was sick, mostly he figured the least he could do was show up to visit in nice clothes that didn't reek of burning flesh already. Incidentally, those clothes were these ones.

Crazy how that worked.

//So, you're telling me that another shopping trip is in order, are you?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"It could be," Hannibal answered. "I hadn't planned on it, but it couldn't hurt to have a few more choices."

Well, it couldn't hurt him. Jono would have to suck it up.

[furnaceface]

Somehow, Jono found himself utterly unsurprised.

//So long as it's just the shopping, of course,// Jono replied. //You lost that last round, after all.//

For the record, Jono didn't think for a moment that he was going to get away with just shopping if they went out to buy more clothing that Hannibal thought was appropriate. But there was a delicate balance, here. A dance that was painstakingly choreographed. Jono needed to be a grouch about the possibility of being pampered, or else people would start to think that he didn't actually secretly like it or something.

[sharp_as_knives]

Which was why Hannibal's final bet had been less about pampering him, and more about him admitting to enjoying it.

"I did," Hannibal agreed. He smiled. "We can shop in London if you like. When you come with me to the Philharmonic."

[furnaceface]

/Ah,// Jono teased, //couldn't think of anybody else who knew the city?//

Shut up, he was totally wearing his happy face, here.

//That works for me, I mean. I'll need to get clothes that are appropriate for that sort of outing, anyway. Never really bothered dressing up for it when I was teaching my Life Entertainment course, and even if I did, it isn't as though those clothes would have a snowball's chance of fitting me now.//

He'd lost weight, since.

[sharp_as_knives]

Just a little, yes.

Hannibal could have pointed out that they'd bought him appropriate clothes in New York, but this was Hannibal - having one fairly formal outfit was no excuse not to have another!

"I know the city a bit myself," he answered. "If I want someone who knows it better, it would be best to get a native." As if he had even thought of anyone else. "Is it your London we're going to?" he asked curiously. He had to know if one or both of them would need to be inconspicuous, after all.

[furnaceface]

//It... no.// Jono got a bit of an odd look on his face for a moment, as though perhaps he'd put something terrible in his mouth and was desperate to be rid of it. //No, us going to my London wouldn't end well, and it's really not an experience I would wish on anybody I actually liked. It's one that's fairly similar to this world's London, actually. Made a point of it. I didn't want any unpleasant surprises beyond whatever ridiculous stopovers Portalocity had in mind.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded; he'd suspected as much, but had wanted to make sure.

"I'll research it, then, before we go. See if the places I know are there." He paused. "The sun is yellow, I hope."

That green world had been his one mishap with Portalocity so far. He hadn't yet had the dubious pleasure of one of their stopovers, but he knew better than to say so out loud.

[furnaceface]

//Sun is yellow, sky is blue,// Jono confirmed. //I was suspicious as well, but I've been reassured that the only real difference between that reality and the Earth that Fandom connects to via the causeway is that the one we're heading to has a slightly larger affinity for plaid.//

Jono paid attention, Hannibal, and this was how you could tell he cared.

[sharp_as_knives]

You were getting side-eyed so hard for that, Jono!

"Thank you, I think."

[furnaceface]

//Well, it was either that one, or the world where all dogs are named Garbledina,// Jono explained, shrugging. //I didn't much see the point in the other one.//

Though it would've been amusing, at least. Now all Jono had to look forward to was a slightly more tartan-filled shopping trip once they got where they were going.

[sharp_as_knives]

Garbledina? Hannibal was tempted to ask, but decided he really didn't want to know. "I look forward to it. Though not at least until I'm well."

[furnaceface]

//Lord, no,// Jonothon agreed. //Travel while you're feeling like utter shite is no fun. How're you supposed to appreciate anything once we get there? Besides the five-star room service, I suppose.//

And again, knowing Hannibal, even that had the possibility of being a toss-up.

[sharp_as_knives]

And if Hannibal were sick, he could hardly march down to the kitchen and set them straight.

"You'll have to let me know your schedule," Hannibal said. "What about your concert - is there a date for that?"

[furnaceface]

//Not exactly,// Jono replied with a shrug of his shoulders. //'The past,' best as I can figure. Pearl Jam doesn't actually have any tour dates this year, so it'll need to be another reality hop. We can schedule one of those for... really just about any time.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I don't suppose they've played any small, intimate" quiet "shows?" Hannibal asked without much hope.

[furnaceface]

//... Perhaps before they really had a name for themselves,// Jono mused, raising an eyebrow, //but that's not really in the spirit of the wager, is it?//

Jono wanted some of their older stuff, but he wasn't so certain he wanted to try to chase them down to a tiny venue for it. He was thinking more along the lines of their No Code tour, back in '96. He would've gone as far back as '95, but their Vitalogy tour had apparently been a bit of a doomed gong show.

//I guess we'll see which show I manage to get tickets for, hm?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"That would be a good first step, yes," Hannibal agreed. "Though I wasn't aware the spirit of the wager demanded thousands of other people." He could handle the music, but even in jeans and one of Jono's t-shirts, if some idiot spilled beer on him or blew marijuana smoke in his face...

[furnaceface]

//I'll aim for skybox seats,// Jono replied easily. //It isn't as though I can't afford them. I'm in it for the music and the atmosphere, mate, but I'm about as keen to get an elbow through my wrappings down on the floor as you are to get one to the guts, I'm sure. Besides, your bet didn't say anything about going shopping. I'd say it's a fair enough trade-off.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"True," Hannibal answered, smiling a little. "Box seats it is, then. When would you like me to choose a shirt?"

[furnaceface]

//Whenever you're feeling better, mate. There's no hurry on that part, not really. I can pull a few out to choose from any time between now and whenever the concert ends up being.//

... It would give him some time to actually do laundry, like a bloody adult. Which he wasn't going to admit to, no.

[sharp_as_knives]

Even Hannibal did laundry, Jono. Well, sent out most of it, but still!

"I'm feeling good enough to be incredibly bored," he said, letting a bit of his annoyance bleed into his voice.

[furnaceface]

//Well, yes. There's not actually a minimum health requirement on boredom,// Jono pointed out, raising an eyebrow. //Trust me on that, I've been far, far worse off than you and bored out of what was left of my skull before.//

He was helping, see?

//Anything I can do to help with that? Grab a book? Put on some music?//