2020-01-24 - Cuddlefest 2020

Finding a night off for the two of them has been a challenge to say the least. But tonight! Tonight they've managed to get their schedules to align and have plans for a proper date. Easton is walking around in just his jeans with a dress shirt unbuttoned straightening up the apartment and consciously trying not to make eye contact with the liquor cabinets, yes eye contact. He stops in the kitchen and looks at the fridge before grumbling and heading out for a cigarette.

Well, to be fair, Whiskey Tom does have eyes. Or one eye. Is he even still on the original Whiskey Tom or has he been reincarnated many times over in different guises and different labels?

There's going to be a knock on the door, one that interrupts his cigarette because even though Bennie does in fact have a key, she doesn't use it out of some skewed sense of politeness. No wait, there is the jingle of keys. She apparently was too impatient to wait this time around. I mean. And they are back together, so! She takes the privilege and sort of half bursts in, only because the lock stuck and she had to throw her weight against it, and TADA! A Bennie.

"Hi!" She says exuberantly. To an empty room. Her head pops around the door to the balcony, shining a smile at the half dressed Easton. "We are so not going to make it too dinner, are we?"

Whiskey Tom is eternal. He regenerates on a varying schedule, but is currently wallowing away in a wounded state in the cabinet.

Easton can hear the jingle of keys even from the balconey, or maybe he can just sense it? It's hard to tell for him at this point. When the door pops open, Easton face beams. He sets the still lit cigarette down and step inside to embrace her. He slides his hands down her sides and laughs, "We might?" He looks her body up and down again and sticks out his tongue slightly. "Noo. No, there's no shot."

"Especially when I show up and my Kryptonite is on full display." That, of course, being his abs, which Bennie is all too happy to lay a hand against when he hugs her, so hers is only returned with one arm while the other plays the xylophone the moment he steps away to give her the once over. He's seen her in this dress before, her wardrobe isn't that vast, it's a yellow wrap around number that ties at the waist beneath her turquoise peacoat. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile so huge." The pads of her fingers touches the curve of his bottom lip before she apparently becomes compelled to kiss him fully.

"I was distracted." Easton looks and runs a hand over his stomach, looking at her with raised eyebrows. He starts to button up the shirt though, so that he can at least pretend that they plan to go out. He glances out at the balcony and says, "Want to finish that off?" He glances back at the kitchen and says, "I'm going to have a beer. You want a drink?" He doesn't look at her as he announces this, and instead is headed for the fridge. The fridge and cabinets are still stocked, which is becoming more and more of an issue.

If Bennie takes issue with him having a beer, it doesn't show. Not even a twitch of her eye or a downturn of her lips. She only asked him to curb his drinking not give it up entirely. And likely because excessiveness of it leads to...bad decisions. Bouncing up on her toes, she declares, "Beer please!" Before she bounds out to the balcony like she has too much energy to adhere to the normal constraints of gravity. With a little squeak of pleasure, she takes up the cigarette, apparently a habit she hasn't given over to fully even in their time apart so it's a treat. "What were you distracted by?" She calls back, curious.

All those intricacies of what is too much and when it's okay are all important things to talk about. He pulls two beers out from the fridge and heads for back out for the balcony. He grabs a zip up hoodie and slips it on before handing on of the beers to Bennie. "I was distracted by not pouring myself a whiskey. I haven't gotten ready for a night out without a whiskey in a long time." The bottle of beer is lifted to clink with hers, "But you weren't wrong. So.. cheers."

Bennie does moue then, biting the corner of her down turned lips for a moment, even as she tinks her beer against his and mumbles a cheer. "You learned to walk again without your crutches. I just want you to remember what living is like...without that one too. That's all. And then it can be just...fun again. And uncomplicated. A boyfriend and a girlfriend having a beer before heading out for a night on the town." She clears her throat slightly and takes a drink as if to wet her dry paper tongue. "What was I not wrong about?"

"I know." Easton assures her and takes back the cigarette for a moment. He says, "And that's what I want. Because you weren't wrong. I was drowning." He exhales a plume of smoke and leans out over the railing. "I'm not sayin' it's all just sunshine and rainbows now but I didn't have a life or a plan after the corps. I just figured I'd try to have a little bit of fun and ..." He doesn't finish that thought, but it doesn't sound all too cheery. He swallows the beer and turns back to her. "I want to get to there. Where it's fun and uncomplicated." He stubs out the last of the cigarette and leans in to kiss her. "That sounds really nice."

Bennie makes a little happy sound against his lips as they kiss again, though don't think that unfinished thought didn't resonate somewhere inside of her, a thread tugged they hadn't really acknowledged before so she's shining just a little less bright as he turns away to declare just how nice things sound. There's a pet to his beard, a drag of nails through the coarse hair, "I'm glad we found each other. All our demons seem less scary when we're together."

Her hand on his face gets him to tuck into it as always, rubbing his beard against her palm. Smiling at her sweet sentiment he nods, "Agreed. And holy shit, the sex." He laughs at the not quite as sentimental but just as true statement. Pulling her back inside the apartment he looks at the door and then back at her. "We could order in and play a rousing game of race the delivery boy." To be back in a presentable state by the time he shows up, that is. "But if you have your heart set on going out I can manage that."

Of course he doesn't look to be in any rush to do that. He sits down on the couch and leans back. "So where I'm at is this." Dinner talk and even sexy time talk appears to be derailed by more serious talk for the moment. "I don't want to sleep with anyone else. Anyone." He looks at her meaningfully when he says that, reinforcing it. "If that changes, we'll talk." And he's just moving past that rather large piece of decision making. "And I'm going to try talking to a therapist again. I talked with this girl named Maggie, a bit weird but I think she might help me be able to unpack some shit." If he lets her.

It's clear from his look that he has more to say on these topics and even if they aren't tearing each others clothes off there's probably a full night of just hammering out life details, and fine maybe some other types of hammering, that could be done.

Bennie makes an exaggerated gesture of tugging at her coat collar as he mentions sex, agreeing with the simple notion that it suddenly got hot in here. "The only thing I have my heart set on is spending time with you, but we should get out more. The way Geoff and Harper were talking about orchards and otters made me realize we're probably missing a whole step here about dating. Like awkward conversation while we wait for dessert or fighting over the boxed candy at a movie." She's saying as he draws her back inside, shrugging off her jacket and laying it over one of the counter stool as they drift toward the couch.

Despite her weak protest about going out, she's all too happy to flop down on the couch with him, and give her full attention to his words instead of mentally trying to pop off his buttons like she might have suddenly developed that ability. Bennie knows there is weight behind his words, even if he plays it off from time to time, and she's offering her hand. "That's all I ask. That we talk about it, we make those kind of decisions together, even if that decision is to not make any right now. But I'd like to think I'm open to what makes us happy. Wanna bring a stripper home and the three of us play naked Twister? Let's talk about it. We just have to be accepting of the fact that feeling and moods change. And that the answer might be 'no'."

Easton's face twists into a barely suppressed smile when she mentions Geoff's talk of orchards and otters. "You realize my husband is full of shit right? They have no done that. They're just as busy tearing each other's clothes off and humping like rabbits as we are." He grins, and is pretty sure Geoff has told him that was the case. Pretty sure.

"Agreed." Easton nods but then gives a goofy shrug with raised eyebrows at the mention of naked twister with a stripper. Maybe. "But yer right, I need to scale back the drinking to something healthy. So no more drinking alone for me, first off." He then lifts the beer and says, "And for a while I need to stick with beer cause one whiskey becomes six becomes a half bottle like.. yea." Magic. Depressing Alcohol-mancing? "And I need to figure out sleeping. Without pills. Without booze. Without hot sweaty sex. And without a tall lanky Jew cuddling me." He takes a sip of beer at that last one, well aware that it's probably news to Bennie. "Rosencratz is a good guy and a great big spoon. We didn't.. fuck or anything. Just.. anyway"

"See! We can totally do this. The new us." Bennie reaches over to clink her bottle to his again. "Don't by any means think I'm giving you ultimatums. I know it's going to be a struggle, I know there are going to be slips and set backs and roadblocks and hurdles. For both of us. I'm getting off the Adderall because even if I needed it in the beginning, I know it turned into something unhealthy. But if I need something to keep me on the right, like anti-depressants again, or you need help sleeping. I don't think there is any shame in us turning to professionals to help us. Medical professionals. Not..strippers." She teases.

As he mentions a lanky Jew, he doesn't even need to say Itzhak's name before she likely filled in that blank herself, but her head is tilting slightly. "Even if you had...slept with him. We weren't together. It's nothing I'd hold against you. Now, finding out you cuddled I'm so never letting you live that down. Maybe because it will forever be emblazoned on my memory about just how amazing that is. And I'm happy he was here for you and that's just about the cutest thing ever." The last few words are kind of strung all together in Bennie-thusiasm.

"The new us!" Easton clinks beers with her and grins. "No, no. I know." He reassures her that it doesn't feel like an ultimatum. "I know. And I am sure there are going to be ... things." Tom's birthday comes immediately to mind. Fourth of July. Waking up in the middle of the night. "Fuck, there's going to be things." He seems to realize as that list springs to mind and keeps unraveling, "But! We're going to get through those. And yea, some professional help is good. Talking about it, between us, is good. Strippers are also good, but probably less helpful in this situation." He flashes a big grin at that.

Easton looks a little embarassed at how excited she is about this revelation. He knew that she'd think it's cute. Just like Isabella thought it was cute that he didn't like to sleep alone. It's fine, it is cute in that way. He admits, "Well it almost went that way at first but then he left me high and dry. The cuddling wasn't planned though, he was crashing here and I couldn't sleep. What about you?" He asks and then looks unsure like maybe he shouldn't be going down this road but he continues on, "Were you.. with anyone that I should know about? I mean, I'm not askin for details and if you say it's none of my business, that's fine."

Bennie still totally complete means to make it out of the apartment for dinner, but they're having beer and conversation and so a little delay couldn't hurt. She thumbs off her low-heeled mary jane style shoes so she can stretch out her legs and prop her calves across his lap. She most certainly shaved or newly waxed her legs for the occasion, but pantyhose are for suckers. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make light of Cuddlefest 2019, I know it was because you needed. I'm not sorry that he gave you a case of blue balls though, if only because de la Vega seems absolutely so smitten with him to the point he mentioned they were exclusive when it came to boy parts."

She moves the bright yellow material off one knee, if only so she can set her bottle of beer down on it and not leave a little wet ring of condensation on the fabric. "You mean should you be worried about some jealous lover going ballistic because I got back with my together with my One True? No, nothing like that. I didn't exactly behave when we were apart though. There was an Ecstasy blamed shift of shame at the diner. And you know that guy you met at the bonfire? Pizza boy?" She tips her head casually at the implication.

Easton is still game for going out to dinner, yes, but as they settle into the couch and she slips off her shoes and puts up her legs that resolve is fading. He runs a hand over her legs idly, not with any real sexy time intent behind it. "No, it's fine. Cuddlepalooza was probably the best night of sleep I had since you left. It was the only one I didn't spend alone." He slides that in there in case she was wondering how off the rails he went in that regard. His eyebrow quirks at the talk of Ruiz and Rosencratz's status. He says, "Oh. Well good for them?" He tries not to sound confused but he is a bit and doesn't do a great job at hiding it.

His eye naturally snaps to where she moves her dress aside and it takes him a few moments before he looks back up at her face. "No, I was more worried about someone realizing how amazing you were and stalking you and deciding I need to die so you can be together." He's joking. He knows that he shouldn't really have asked, he just couldn't help it. The cstasy gets a grimaces as he knows how that come down feels but then his eyebrows shoot up. "Pizza boy?" It takes him a second to think back before his head leans to one side and his lip twitches up into a slight curl. "Eh. A little scruffy. Kinda on the scrawny side? But I can see it." He gets that usual mischevious look on his face before he asks, "Was he any good? Or was the pizza the better part of your night?"

Bennie's head tilts to rest on the back cushion, a little touch of sadness around her eyes as he sort of chokes over that 'good for them' bit when it comes to Ruiz and Itzhak. "You heard different. Or know different. Damn, I was kinda rooting for Javier to finally find some happiness." But when doesn't Bennie root for couples in their coupledom?

One leg lifts to nudge him with her toes. "He has a cute little hairy belly. And he was very...what I needed in the moment." But Bennie leaves it at that, no need to go into the details of wiggling around Alexander's floor with his head between her thighs. "Which I'm sure you can relate to. I think he's actually some sort of gigolo though? So I think I was just a pity F-word."

"No!" Easton protests and shakes his head, "I just heard Itzie had two girlfriends and that it was less of a thing, thing. But I'm not exactly hounding them for details of their relationship. So what do I know?" He adds, "And I am rooting for them. I just.. I don't understand how multi-couples work." He takes a sip of his beer and tries to move past that line of thinking.

Easton looks at her with a wince when she mentions his 'cute little hair belly'. "Holy shit. Please remind me to never, ever hear how you describe me or our sex life. I don't want to know. If pizza boy ever asks, I'll stick to the 'he was exactly what I needed in the moment' line." He shakes his head grimacing at Bennie describing any of his little cute hairy pieces of anatomy. "Really?" He is surprised by the gigolo talk. "Benz, if he gets paid to fuck people, I can only imagine how excited he would be to hookup with you instead. That's hardly pity. That's like eating filet mignon after surviving on stale beef jerkey. I can't imagine that the majority of people who pay for it are of the highest caliber."

"Oh! That's what I meant. About they only have boy parts for each other. Meaning they just aren't sleeping with other men. Sort of gave me the idea really, except for the 'amory' part of the 'poly'." Yup. Bennie just admitted that Ruiz and Itzhak were her models for this whole proposition she gave Easton regarding giving him a hall pass that includes all of the male species. But Easton already said that right now and for the foreseeable future, Bennie is all he needs and wants, and damned if she's not pleased as punch about that.

"You wanna know how I describe our sex life?" No, no he just said he doesn't. "That I've never met a man who could reduce me into jello and simultaneously leave me satisfied and constantly wanting more at the same time like you. I'm surprised I remember to hydrate much less ever want to leave the bed. And that's without mentioning your abs." His belly most definitely is out of the 'cute' category into the 'Adonis' one. "You say the sweetest things when you compare me to meat."

"Oooh," Easton catches up on what she meant and then gives her wry smile when she mentions using it as inspiration.

"No!" Easton looks genuinely worried when she asks the question and he braces himself with bared teeth when she starts in. but slowly relaxes as it's not quite as terrifying as he had feared. He asks, "You want to know how I describe our sex life." He brow waggles and says, "Actually I don't. I usually just say, 'Look at her.' and let that suffice to inform anyone of how amazing it is." He laughs about comparing her to meat, "Yea well I almost said top shelf liquor versus a forty of malt liquor but I'm doing my best to not think about that right now."

Bennie actually flushes a little red around the apples of her cheeks as he says his response is as simple as telling people to look at her. She's not a modest person by any means, but when he pays her compliments like that, they seem to resonate much deeper. She nudges him again, this time with the heel of her foot. "How can someone truly comprehend the depths of our combined gymnastic abilities just by looking at me?" She tilts her head slightly, "Wanna grab us another beer and the take out menus?"

With a touch of seriousness Easton replies, "I don't need anyone to get it. I'm not worried if they think we have the most boring vanilla sex life imaginable." He knows that she's joking but he's taking it as a time to say serious things about their relationship too, interspersed with the joking. At the request for round two he lifts a hand and narrows his eyes a little. The fridge and a drawer in the kitchen open and out come two beers which are opened in mid-air by the bottle opener, which returns itself to the drawer. The beers and three menus make their way over to them before plinkplunk the bottle caps drop into the garbage can. He holds his new beer and says, "And yes, I know, not to do that hastily. I know. But I need to practice doing things blindly, especially fiddly bits like opening bottles in midair. Never know when I'm going to need to do something besides throw things at weird shit in a Dream."

It's a subtle thing to notice, the shift in how they have a conversation. The serious intermingled with their joking, less spit shine on everything to spare the other from the heavy topics, and more just being earnest with each other. "Let them wonder and let them rot." Bennie agrees, her smile settling into something a little quieter and more content, meant just for the two of them as well.

She's no longer surprised when things come flying out of no where instead of Easton going to fetch them, but his preemptive explanation causes a fan of her fingers, "You're a big boy, I trust you on that. Plus, I can't complain about the added convenience of not having to give up my foot rest. The more you can control it, the better I feel about you rushing into the fire fight. I'm feeling a bit rusty myself. I haven't used my 'gifts' since.." The fact she's setting her empty beer on a cardboard box finishes that sentence well enough for her.

The cardboard box has definitely seen some use. The psychedelic pattern of raised rings look like a demented zealous attempt at cupping gone wrong on the back of some new age starlet. But it's still standing.

The comment about trusting him cause a smile to creep up just one side of his mouth. He nods, "Okay." realizing that he was gearing up to defend himself in an argument or at least a disagreement that isn't necessary. He admits, "I haven't use done glimmer since that Dream either." Yes, apparently you can 'do glimmer' just like you can 'do sex' at least in Easton's lexicon. He doesn't mind the implication that he was that shaken up by it. It's the truth and it's good for him to admit that much to her at least. "Babe, that scared the shit out of me. And I didn't get a chance to tell you that, what with the recovery and then the fight and all that." He doesn't draw back from mentioning it even if it's not the most cheerful of topics. It's honest. It happened.

"I feel like Alexander but: don't die."

His eyes peer out over the Thai menu and doesn't add why or anything else, just that admonition.

"Kudos on the mid flight de-bottle capping though, that was pretty impressive. Soon you can fire the maid and just have a full on Mickey Sorcerer's Apprentice thing going on. You know, without the flooding catastrophe. Hopefully." Bennie's nose wrinkles though as he mentions the last Dream they shared with the others as a result of that creepy invitation they all received. "It definitely was no picnic. But it could have happened to any of the healers. I just drew the short straw. I'm sorry I scared you, but I can't be sorry I was there." She curls closer, scooting damn near to share the same cushion as he is. "I'll tell you the same thing I tell Alexander. I'll try my best if you do." To not die.

Lifting his beer bottle he not so modestly agrees, "Thank you, thank you. It's impressive I know." He winces and shakes his head at the talk of a Sorcerer's Apprentice thing. "Pretty sure that was a cautionary tale to help us know not to do shit like that." Now he gets to be the one to chide her, "I know. I'm not questioning anytime you've used your abilities. You were helping people, our friends. There's nothing to be sorry about." He takes a sip of his beer and is glad when she encroaches even further on his space. He leans his head against her and says quietly, "I just don't want to lose more people." It's not like he has to explain that to her, who is far more intimately familiar with loss than most. But it's still progress for him to just say that out loud.

Bennie agrees with him except for one minor point. "You're impressive." She's all too happy to be snuggle up next to him, it's been very difficult living in a world - and a temporary roommate - where her lack of boundary issues aren't widely accepted. It's like the blonde feeds off of physical contact and has been practically starving, so he has a lap full of her legs and cuddled up enough to hinder the use of one arm save either curling it around her or draping it over the back of the couch.

"I know." She responds quietly to the notion that he can't lose anyone else. A subtle little swallow given at the thought of what it would do to him. Of course any of his friends would have an impact, and in a town like this they're just biding their time against the grim eventuality that the odds are against them. "I don't want to lose you either."

The lack of need for personal space has always been something they have in common. He wraps his one arm around her and exhales. There's a palpable relief at having her close again, not just in the passionate sexy-time way but in the quieter, just holding her way. He nods when she says she knows. There are words he still hasn't said out loud, not to her, not to anyone, not even to himself in the mirror. Those are things that other Marines, other vets have warned him about that he's afraid to even voice. But she knows.

He wants to promise that she won't lose him, or that they'll make it somehow but all he can reply is an echo of her sentiment, "I know."