Sirius. [ darkly, as he looks down at the water bottle. ] And Remus.
[ which was a clear betrayal. derek's brow furrows, and it's a long moment before he actually heeds her instruction, lifts the bottle to sip. and dribble some down his front, but that clearly can't be helped. ]
[She sounds vaguely disbelieving, like persuading Derek into something like that would be beyond their capabilities. And more, why? Unless they were trying to humiliate him, a thought that has something defensive and protective slowly prickling up her spine.]
[ low and irritated. he's scrubbing absently at the wet patch on his shirt from the water. the clumsiness of his movements is frustrating him. derek's never dealt with this before. or if he has, he's been poisoned or bleeding out and had bigger things to worry about. ]
Kate was there too.
[ derek doesn't sound thrilled about any of this. ]
[She reaches over to take the bottle out of his hands before he spills it, other hand almost absently lifting to sweep the backs of her fingers at the corner of his mouth, wipe away some of the water there.]
Were they drinking too?
[Cause that would be the tell, wouldn't it, if it had all been some kind of set up to ridicule him. If they were stone sober, watching him get drunk.]
[ derek snickers. he's going to regret a lot in the morning, he thinks darkly. being drunk was fun until it wasn't, until derek was made acutely aware of his current state of humanity. and started feeling sick, as you do. ]
Can we go to sleep?
[ tiredly, turning the water bottle over in his hands. ]
[She's frowning at her comms at the responses she's received from Remus and Sirius, looks up at Derek's question, surprise evident in her eyes.]
Here?
[But maybe that was obvious. It was late, he'd come here drunk, it made sense he'd want to sleep. It's just been so long that no part of her had assumed he'd want to stay.]
[She reaches to stop him getting up, immediately regretting her reaction, the question and resulting look that had crossed his face. Her hand settles on his, loose. Easy to shake off.]
You don't have to. If you wanna be here.
[She isn't sure it's the right thing to do. If he should be deciding about it while drunk, if she should be accepting it while he's drunk. But she doesn't want to push him away, either.]
[ derek doesn't shake her off. he'll hate this later, the memory of how hard it was to maintain any kind of defense, how the alcohol stripped him down to just the simplest needs. ]
I like sleeping here.
[ clearly talking around the bigger question, but it's the best he can do at the moment. ]
[As simple as that, even if she knows, it's not really that simple at all. But it was safer than letting him walk out in this state. Better he stayed where she could keep an eye on him. Get him to drink more water, help him with the inevitable hangover. She moves to stand.]
[She should say no. Keep some distance between them, not let the drink completely erode how things had been, as much as she'd hated it, as much as she'd missed him. She looks at him and wonders exactly how much he's going to regret this in the morning - the alcohol, coming to her room, sleeping in the same bed. But she can't say no to him.]
Okay. [She lets out a long exhale, turning back towards him.] Okay. Come on.
[Climbing onto the bed behind him, holding up an arm to guide him down next to her.]
[ even if derek's drunk, getting into bed with tyke is old habit by now. his body knows what to do, just how to curl around her, how to drape his arm heavily across her waist. the nagging sense that he shouldn't be doing this is buried beneath the sensation of warmth, of how good it was to lean into tyke and push his face in against her throat.
there's maybe a split second of restless shifting before derek is fast asleep. good work, everyone. mission accomplished. ]
[The way her body relaxes into Derek's is practically instinctive at this point, and all the more painful for it, the familiarity, the comfort of him pressed close. The fact it's likely going to be lost again in the morning. She should have kept him a little more distant, sleeping beside her but not tangled up together, but he's too fast and too fast asleep to do anything about it.
She should have made him face the other way, too, for more practical reasons.]
If you throw up on me, I'm kicking you off the bed.
[Grumbled softly, even though she's pretty sure anything louder still wouldn't wake him. Without moving too much, she reaches past him to slide her comms under the pillow, to hit the lighting controls, smooths fingers over his hair as she settles back.
She's asleep more quickly than she's managed in weeks.]
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[ which was a clear betrayal. derek's brow furrows, and it's a long moment before he actually heeds her instruction, lifts the bottle to sip. and dribble some down his front, but that clearly can't be helped. ]
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[She sounds vaguely disbelieving, like persuading Derek into something like that would be beyond their capabilities. And more, why? Unless they were trying to humiliate him, a thought that has something defensive and protective slowly prickling up her spine.]
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[ low and irritated. he's scrubbing absently at the wet patch on his shirt from the water. the clumsiness of his movements is frustrating him. derek's never dealt with this before. or if he has, he's been poisoned or bleeding out and had bigger things to worry about. ]
Kate was there too.
[ derek doesn't sound thrilled about any of this. ]
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Were they drinking too?
[Cause that would be the tell, wouldn't it, if it had all been some kind of set up to ridicule him. If they were stone sober, watching him get drunk.]
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[ though derek clearly hasn't come to the same worry tyke's latched on to. ]
Remus asked me.
[ inadvertantly throwing remus under the bus, whoops. ]
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Drink some more water. [She says, handing him the bottle again.] Trust me, you'll regret it in the morning if you don't.
[And it's something to keep him distracted for a moment while she gets her comms out, fires off two quick texts.]
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Can we go to sleep?
[ tiredly, turning the water bottle over in his hands. ]
I don't want anymore water.
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Here?
[But maybe that was obvious. It was late, he'd come here drunk, it made sense he'd want to sleep. It's just been so long that no part of her had assumed he'd want to stay.]
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I can go.
[ slowly, frowning, a hand dropping to the bed to push himself up unsteadily. ]
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[She reaches to stop him getting up, immediately regretting her reaction, the question and resulting look that had crossed his face. Her hand settles on his, loose. Easy to shake off.]
You don't have to. If you wanna be here.
[She isn't sure it's the right thing to do. If he should be deciding about it while drunk, if she should be accepting it while he's drunk. But she doesn't want to push him away, either.]
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I like sleeping here.
[ clearly talking around the bigger question, but it's the best he can do at the moment. ]
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[As simple as that, even if she knows, it's not really that simple at all. But it was safer than letting him walk out in this state. Better he stayed where she could keep an eye on him. Get him to drink more water, help him with the inevitable hangover. She moves to stand.]
You can have this one, I'll take the other bed.
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Stay?
[ questioning, or echoing, maybe. he has the dim inkling that he doesn't have a right to be asking, but it's too late to stop that now. ]
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Okay. [She lets out a long exhale, turning back towards him.] Okay. Come on.
[Climbing onto the bed behind him, holding up an arm to guide him down next to her.]
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there's maybe a split second of restless shifting before derek is fast asleep. good work, everyone. mission accomplished. ]
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She should have made him face the other way, too, for more practical reasons.]
If you throw up on me, I'm kicking you off the bed.
[Grumbled softly, even though she's pretty sure anything louder still wouldn't wake him. Without moving too much, she reaches past him to slide her comms under the pillow, to hit the lighting controls, smooths fingers over his hair as she settles back.
She's asleep more quickly than she's managed in weeks.]