overjoyed_logs | [closed] Along for the Ride

[ The hours pass by in brief glimpses of gray and washes of the real-world, consciousness slipping from fevered silence to fevered silence. He wakes in intermittent bursts, moments of reality clashing with the fuzzy edges of a seemingly unending dream state.

But the dreams themselves slip away from his sluggish mind like grains of sand, skittering past the reach of his fingertips. Sometimes they're pleasant, warm. Lavi wakes within the embrace of some nostalgic peace, laughter ghosting across his lips.

At other times, he stirs with a racing heart, a stammering pulse. His stomach twists with the phantom pains of panic, his muscles burn with the memory of desperate races.

All of it, the good and the bad, the warm and the cold, slip away from his understanding by the time he rouses again. Lavi waits for the sleep to pull him back under, his throat dry and tight from the recycled air of the ship.

Footsteps down the hall, loud and demanding, stun him out of the sleepy reverie. He pushes up unsteadily, eye narrowing, fingers searching for something sharp and solid to grasp in the darkness of his room. What he finds is not a weapon, not in any traditional sense, but a worn book, its time-weathered surface cool to his fevered touch. ]

Geeze..

[ Shaking his head at himself, he reinforces where he is--on their ship, in his room, and pushes the sound of footsteps out of his mind. Just another dream remnant, another whisper of a world left behind in the recesses of his fatigued brain.

Inhaling to calm the staccato rhythm of his heart, Lavi swings his legs around, comes to a shaky stand. His muscles resist at first, and his balance seems precarious, but he makes it to the door, to the hallway.

Intent to hydrate and find some form of food, he pads into the rec-room, eye glassy, cheeks flushed faintly, sweat sticking to his hairline. Wavering at the doorway, it takes him a moment to register that the room is occupied, and another moment yet that its occupant isn't his usual taciturn partner. It's.. ]

Yo, Stein.

[ A lazy smile is offered in place of his usual cheer, energy reserves struggling to make even that much happen. But he's happy, if wary, to see Steinbeck, and the need to preserve a facade grants him enough stamina to deliver a second, much more inviting grin as he steadies his steps and slinks into the room proper. ]

Forgot we'd have an uncle with us today. Yu didn't give you too much trouble, did he?

Lavi. A sight for sore eyes.

[He smiles, weakly. His head's been swimming. It's getting hard to focus now, what with the sudden bout of delirium that's currently passing through him. Dark shadows cast themselves over the floor, he sees them clearly, somehow is able to smell something acrid and bitter coming from them. The shadows rearrange themselves into thrashing tendrils. He watches them, finding them oddly soothing, only tearing his eyes away when he sees his friend step in.]

[He blinks. The shadows are gone.]

No, he didn't. Still as grumpy as ever though. He told me you were sleeping. [He looks Lavi up and down.] You look like you've seen better days, honestly.

Edited 2017-01-16 05:29 (UTC)

[ He'd intended to come here and find something to drink, but with it being the rec-room and not the galley, his choices are largely alcoholic and more alcoholic. Lavi is at least half sure there's some water bottles stashed for the inevitable hangover, but the prospect of looking for them fruitlessly is.. daunting.

Geeze, when did I get so pathetic?

He's off his game in just about every way--enough so that he misses the momentary glaze in Stein's eyes, the passing of ghosts between blinks.

Though he doesn't fail to notice the overall state of the man. Not quite as ragged as him, but worrying nonetheless. ]

You're not looking so hot yourself, uncle.

[ Never to ask for help unless he absolutely needs it, Lavi takes a controlled breath to keep his steps straight, slinking over towards the bar. Rather than go for the hokk, he spends a moment hovering over the bottles until he finds the waters hidden among them, weakly tossing one in Stein's direction. ]

That's...good, though. I think he may be warming up to you a little bit.

[Alcohol is good, Steinbeck would love a drink, except, really, he's not in the mood for one. He's already delirious - he hardly wants to add alcohol to that mix.]

Ah, it's true. I've had worse, though. [He flaps a hand, as if to say "this is nothing". Just ignore it, that's the way to go. Don't make other people worry. Don't make yourself worry. Just keep going like you always have.]

[He fumbles with the tossed water bottle, but manages to keep a grip on it, offering Lavi a thankful smile.]

Thanks. [He opens it, taking a sip. Urgh. He's not even in the mood for drinking, even though he knows he should.] Aw, is he? He's so cranky, but he has a good heart. [He gestures to Lavi with the hand holding the water bottle.] You're lucky to have a man like him.

[ Slinking over to the couch, Lavi loses the will to keep regulating his movement and lets himself fall on his way down, plopping with a distinct "oomf" under his breath.

Head rolling back against the cushions, he sighs, eye closing briefly as he holds the water bottle against his head. Fever are so damn hot.

Fortunately, he's only just uncapped his water when Stein throws out that line, and sick and weary as he is, even Lavi catches that.

Man..like...him?

The redhead grins weakly, restraining the urge to laugh just because of how much energy and breath that would take. ]

First time someone's told me I'm lucky to have a partner like him, but yeah. It has its...perks.

[ Not that... that sounds any less like dating, but whatever. ]

He gets really annoying about lies though. Like that one you just tried to tell me, uncle.

[ Hand-flapping: failed. Lavi-worry: activated. ]

He cares about you. That much is obvious.

[The very first time he met Kanda, it was obvious that he wasn't just some casual acquaintance. It must be nice, having someone so close - even now, Steinbeck can't say he's exactly close with anyone, even Lavi. There are still parts of himself he keeps hidden from everyone around him.]

Me, lying? [He lets out a laugh.] About what, being like this? Trust me, nothing compares to being hung from the ceiling from hooks in your body.

[Because that's a thing he willingly does, from time to time.]

Seriously, everyone keeps worrying about me. They need to worry about themselves.

[Just a pointed glance here at Lavi.]

[ In the same sense that a cactus cares about the sun, yes, that much is indeed obvious. Fever must be making the Scarback especially sentimental to say something so decidedly uncool casually like that.

But then he follows with an equally casual mention of that...particularly disturbing propensity to hang oneself from hooks like it’s comparable to whatever cold or flu they currently have.

It’s Lavi’s turn to laugh, warm and low. ]

Don’t remember anything in the scriptures about bearing fevers for your followers, Uncle. ‘Sides, I have extra worry to spare. Doesn’t cost me to spread it around.

[ Kind of like this infection… but that poor choice of wording isn’t caught until it’s too late, Lavi pressing the water bottle against his brow again and offering his own hand wave. ]

You know what I mean.

We bear what we need to. Fever, pain, whatever. It's-

[He's distracted again. There's a flash of green he sees, in the corner of his eye. Something writhing and smooth. His eyes flicker to the corner before he shakes his head. No, he's seeing things again.]

Anyways, it's part of our faith. I'll do what I can.

[He takes a sip of water, frowning slightly as he thinks.]

I know. But anyways, I guess it's natural to worry. I mean, I worry about you and him. I have friends at home I worry about. Family too. There's too much worry, going around.

[He laughs.]

It's enough to make a man sick.

[ This time he catches the moment of distraction, the way Steinbeck’s gaze seems to linger too long on a shadow. The worry clinches his stomach tighter, but he decides not to ask of it--not to argue it.

He would scarcely be able to convince Steinbeck of anything when his breath is short for every word spent. Instead, he offers a wavering smile, indicating the space beside him. ]

You’d alleviate some of my worry if you’d sit down. C’mon, we can cuddle up or I can poke you with needles to make it more comfortable. No believers need you to stay all the way over there.

Cuddle up? You don't think Kanda would disapprove?

[He says, cheekily - however, he takes the offer, walking over to sit where Lavi indicated, leaning back and just taking a moment to collect himself. He's been through worse, like he said, so really, he can get through this. He can survive. Nothing to worry about, he has to keep telling himself that.]

Maybe I should just fall asleep right here and now. [A chuckle, shifting closer as if he's going to teasingly lay his head down on Lavi's shoulder.] Use you as a pillow.

[ Lavi isn't really that fond of many people in this world, let alone enough to both realize and accept that he's worried about them, so he takes that tease with an ingratiating smile. Par for the course, he supposes. ]

It'll probably be fine. He's generous.

[ A breathless bit of laughter here, dying down as Steinbeck settles beside him. He spares a side glance at the monk, shaking his head as much as vertigo will allow. Shimmying his shoulder in a returned taunt, he murmurs: ]

I've been told I make a poor pillow. Too bony and I move around a lot, but if you wanna sleep, I can find you a blanket or something.

[closed] Along for the Ride

Steinbeck & Lavi

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