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smackenzieThey washed off, dried off, and Aidan went into the bedroom wearing his towel so Val could get dressed in peace. He really did feel a little better - he felt clean, for one thing - but he wanted to go home now so he could change his clothes. Fortunately there was no smoking in the Fish and Firkin, so his shirt and jeans didn't smell like overcrowded bar, but he felt kind of grungy getting dressed in the same clothes he'd slept in. Maybe Stella or Aidan would take him home. Or if he felt well enough to go to the zoo after all, he could get Aidan to stop by his place on the way so he could at least put on clean undies and socks.
He scraped his hair back and found an elastic in the medicine cabinet to hold it out of his face. All he needed was a clean toothbrush to take care of his morning-after breath and he'd be ready to, well, maybe not face the day, but at least he'd feel more human.
There was a knock on the bathroom door and it opened a crack so Stella could stick her face in.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Clean," he answered.
"Good. Can you eat? I can make you some toast. Aidan's not sure the pancake place is such a good idea after all."
"Yeah, no, maybe not. I think I can watch him eat, though, if he's still set on going."
"Come out and have some orange juice and you can talk about it. I was going to make myself scarce today anyway."
"You don't have to go."
"Yeah I do." She grinned. "Aidan wants a date. That's you and him. I'd be a third wheel. That was the whole point, Val. Remember?"
"Yeah, I guess." He shook out the towel he'd used and hung it on a hook on the back of the door, and then walked out of the bathroom and through the apartment to the kitchen. Aidan was already sitting at the table with his coffee.
"Morning again," he said cheerily. "Coffee? Toast? Aspirin?"
"Aspirin. Please." Stella got him a couple of tablets and poured some orange juice for him. Val sucked it down gratefully, only then becoming aware of how very thirsty he was. He briefly considered the idea of toast before realizing that no, it probably wasn't a great idea yet. Maybe later when he was actually hungry. His stomach was still a little sensitive. Juice was just fine, though. Juice was good.
"What happened last night?" Stella asked, sitting down with her own coffee. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Kirk took me out to celebrate my being free of Caswell and Etc and my being able to figure out what I want to do that will make me happy." He shrugged. "He kept buying me drinks and I kept drinking them, and then it was late and I was smashed and I came over here. I don't usually drink that much. I woke you up, didn't I. I'm sorry about that."
"I went right back to sleep." She reached over and patted his arm, like his aunt might do to reassure him that he really didn't have to eat her ambrosia salad, she understood that he didn't like sweet things, she wasn't offended. "I was awake before both of you."
"You usually are," Aidan pointed out.
"Are you going to be ok?" Stella asked Val.
"Eventually, yeah. I mean, hangovers always go away. It's probably a good thing I threw up last night. I'll drink a lot of water today and take some more aspirin and go to bed early."
"I meant about finding a job."
"Oh. Maybe? I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."
"Ok. Do you still want to go out today?"
"That should be my question," Aidan said. "Do you still want to go out with me?"
"Sure," Val said. "I'm not going on any rollercoasters, but if the weather's ok I can probably walk around the zoo. How stinky is it?"
"It's not too bad. It's all open cages. The butterfly house won't smell like anything, we can go in there, and the lizard house is nice and cool. I don't want to make you do anything that's going to make you puke again. What about pancakes?"
"You eat, I'll watch."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll have some juice or maybe they have tea or something to settle my stomach. Can we go back to my place first, so I can change my clothes?"
"Yeah, no problem." Aidan finished his coffee and looked at Val with a fairly serious expression. "Are you sure you're not too hungover?"
"No. But I don't want to sit in your apartment all day and recover. You wanted to go on a date to the zoo, so we'll go on a date to the zoo. So far I'm ok with being your boyfriend." He gestured to Stella as well. "I don't want to start freaking out about that again. I want to... ride the momentum, I guess. Stay with the peace."
"You are so cute," Stella said, grinning. She got up and patted Val on the head as she walked around the table to put her mug in the dishwasher. "You boys go have fun. Do you want me to come back for dinner?"
"I don't know," Aidan said. "We'll figure it out later. We'll call you, ok?"
"Okey-dokey." She waved at them and went back to the bedroom.
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He scraped his hair back and found an elastic in the medicine cabinet to hold it out of his face. All he needed was a clean toothbrush to take care of his morning-after breath and he'd be ready to, well, maybe not face the day, but at least he'd feel more human.
There was a knock on the bathroom door and it opened a crack so Stella could stick her face in.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Clean," he answered.
"Good. Can you eat? I can make you some toast. Aidan's not sure the pancake place is such a good idea after all."
"Yeah, no, maybe not. I think I can watch him eat, though, if he's still set on going."
"Come out and have some orange juice and you can talk about it. I was going to make myself scarce today anyway."
"You don't have to go."
"Yeah I do." She grinned. "Aidan wants a date. That's you and him. I'd be a third wheel. That was the whole point, Val. Remember?"
"Yeah, I guess." He shook out the towel he'd used and hung it on a hook on the back of the door, and then walked out of the bathroom and through the apartment to the kitchen. Aidan was already sitting at the table with his coffee.
"Morning again," he said cheerily. "Coffee? Toast? Aspirin?"
"Aspirin. Please." Stella got him a couple of tablets and poured some orange juice for him. Val sucked it down gratefully, only then becoming aware of how very thirsty he was. He briefly considered the idea of toast before realizing that no, it probably wasn't a great idea yet. Maybe later when he was actually hungry. His stomach was still a little sensitive. Juice was just fine, though. Juice was good.
"What happened last night?" Stella asked, sitting down with her own coffee. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Kirk took me out to celebrate my being free of Caswell and Etc and my being able to figure out what I want to do that will make me happy." He shrugged. "He kept buying me drinks and I kept drinking them, and then it was late and I was smashed and I came over here. I don't usually drink that much. I woke you up, didn't I. I'm sorry about that."
"I went right back to sleep." She reached over and patted his arm, like his aunt might do to reassure him that he really didn't have to eat her ambrosia salad, she understood that he didn't like sweet things, she wasn't offended. "I was awake before both of you."
"You usually are," Aidan pointed out.
"Are you going to be ok?" Stella asked Val.
"Eventually, yeah. I mean, hangovers always go away. It's probably a good thing I threw up last night. I'll drink a lot of water today and take some more aspirin and go to bed early."
"I meant about finding a job."
"Oh. Maybe? I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."
"Ok. Do you still want to go out today?"
"That should be my question," Aidan said. "Do you still want to go out with me?"
"Sure," Val said. "I'm not going on any rollercoasters, but if the weather's ok I can probably walk around the zoo. How stinky is it?"
"It's not too bad. It's all open cages. The butterfly house won't smell like anything, we can go in there, and the lizard house is nice and cool. I don't want to make you do anything that's going to make you puke again. What about pancakes?"
"You eat, I'll watch."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll have some juice or maybe they have tea or something to settle my stomach. Can we go back to my place first, so I can change my clothes?"
"Yeah, no problem." Aidan finished his coffee and looked at Val with a fairly serious expression. "Are you sure you're not too hungover?"
"No. But I don't want to sit in your apartment all day and recover. You wanted to go on a date to the zoo, so we'll go on a date to the zoo. So far I'm ok with being your boyfriend." He gestured to Stella as well. "I don't want to start freaking out about that again. I want to... ride the momentum, I guess. Stay with the peace."
"You are so cute," Stella said, grinning. She got up and patted Val on the head as she walked around the table to put her mug in the dishwasher. "You boys go have fun. Do you want me to come back for dinner?"
"I don't know," Aidan said. "We'll figure it out later. We'll call you, ok?"
"Okey-dokey." She waved at them and went back to the bedroom.
words: 926
total words: 48,591
no subject
Date: 2008-11-30 01:32 am (UTC)And it's good to see at least some of the panic is dying down. (for now)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-30 07:05 am (UTC)