|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:07 pm
Harley sat on the floor of her shared room, squared up with the door. She watched it carefully and listened for the telling sounds of someone's approach from the hallway. It was getting close to 7:30; the time she demanded that Horace visit her, lest she raise hell. Just in case, she hadn't changed yet. She still wore her clothing from the day, including her jacket and shoes. Lament was only a summon away. The moment the clock struck 7:30, and if he wasn't there by then, she'd be sounding the alarm.
She was ready.
At 7:28pm, she heard footsteps near her room. Within a moment she was on her feet, already reaching for the knob. The steps approached, closer and closer, and Hattie threw open the door, and prayed to whomever would listen that she'd find Horace on the other side -
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:52 am
It wasn't Horace. He would, however, appear about three minutes later, shoulders slumped, moving slowly. It wasn't that he had been detained - in fact the whole encounter with Jan had been... relatively brief, all things considering. That meant he'd had time to think and he'd almost become lost in his thoughts before remembering his promise to Hattie. And maybe, maybe seeing his sister would be a good thing. He hadn't seen her in so long. "Hattie?" he called out tentatively, tiredly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:29 pm
It wasn't Horace. The disappointment was clear on her face, and she shut the door with a heavy slam. Damnit. Why wasn't it Horace? It should have been. The red head began to pace the room, though it only took a few long strides each way. Finally, after an eternity, she checked her watch.
7:31. He was officially late.
Something heavy settled in her stomach, and Hattie threw open the door again, this time with every intention of storming out to sound every alarm and overturn every stone. Except, naturally, the wind was knocked from her sails as the man himself appeared, framed in the doorway. She stared at him, blue eyes wide, and then she let out an excited and rather high pitched scream.
"HORACE!" She shrieked, stepping forward and throwing her arms around him in one quick motion. She was up on her toes, squeezing him in a death-grip of a hug. "You're late and I hate you for it BUT YOU'RE HERE and that's all that matters!" She leaned back enough to press a firm, noisy kiss to his cheek. Then her likely too-tight hug resumed, seemingly intent on clinging to him as hard as she could to assure herself that he was alive, and there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:43 am
Horace was, as usual, nearly bowled over by Hattie. She was vibrant and currently clinging onto him like a red-headed koala. He staggered under the unexpected hug. there were a few, long moments where he just stood, arms wrapped around her in return while he buried his face in her shoulder. There was something about human touch that he'd sorely missed while he was gone - it wasn't like the Belgium base had cuddlers or anyone he wanted to cuddle with. Then, gamely, he hoisted her up, one arm under her bony butt, and headed into her room. Well, her and Tommy's room. "Hey, Hattiecat," he said finally, attempting to deposit her on a bed. His voice was quiet and it was clear he was upset, but he still tacked on a smile. "I missed you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:30 am
She knew he wouldn't let her fall. He never let her down. So she clung to him happily, squeezing as hard as she could without breaking anything, and only too happily let him hoist her up. Her knees bent and pressed against his slides, at least carrying a bit of her own, albeit slight, weight.
It did become clear very quickly that she wasn't about to allow him to let her go. When he tried to deposit her on her own bed, she only clung tighter; either he came with her, or he'd have to hold her forever. That was how it was going to go.
"I missed you too! So, so much!" She tilted her head, nuzzling the side of her face against his. As awkward as it was, the skin-to-skin was reassuring. "I'm so glad you're back, and alive, and all the really good stuff!" He was there, and tangible, and she did it because she could. The tone of his voice seemed to resonate right through her; something was certainly wrong with him. One of her hands lifted, fingers threading through the back of his head, tangling in his hair, as she nudged him once more with her cheek.
"Wanna tell me what's wrong, Little Brother?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 5:03 pm
Horace sat down with her - he'd learned from experience that he just couldn't win against Hattie. Hattie's superglue self. He sighed against the crook of her neck. "I'm glad you're here, little sister" he whispered. The truth of it was that he didn't want to tell Harley. Didn't want to be a burden, was afraid of her dismissal, any numbers of things should have stayed his tongue, but instead he opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. "I went to give him the necklace, and.. and he threw it away. Threw everything away like it was t-trash." His laugh but on the edge of being watery. This on top of the forest - the things in the forest were right, in some ways. What if they were right about it all? Maybe he should have stayed. Did that count as opting out? "It's just... it's not fair, I guess. H-he affected me so much b-but I, I'm nothing more than a p-passing thought." Gently, Horace tried to pull away, feeling as though the sort of blackness he felt on his shoulders might spread to her, infect her. It wouldn't be fair. "S-sorry.... What movie did you get?" Avoidance was always an option, even when he'd just spoken.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 5:55 pm
Horace sat down, and Hattie made herself comfortable on his lap, completely unwilling to give up any small amount of contact at that very moment. It was likely very greedy of her, but she needed it; he didn't seem to fight her on it, so it meant that it was alright.
When Horace started to spill the beans, however vague it was, Hattie was surprised. She hadn't expected him to give in so easily; it must have been incredibly upsetting to him. It didn't take her long to realize who this him was, but the necklace did give her a moment of pause. It was a sneaky glance, but she did notice he was missing his necklace. Ah. So he gave it back, and it was discarded.
"Aww, Horace, that's awful. I'm sorry." She really was sorry: Sorry that he had fallen for that absolute scum of a man. You couldn't help who you loved, and her poor baby brother ended up with the exact wrong sort. "But you know what? This still might be a good thing for you, yeah? You're free now to put all of your great, amazing, fantastic self towards someone who will actually appreciate you for who you are!" She let her hands slide from around his neck, and leaned back just enough to cup his face between her hands. "It hurts now, and I can't imagine how bad, but it's the end of a very toxic thing for you, right?" She began to smooth his cheeks together, offering him a hopeful, but hesitant smile - she didn't want to seem too pleased that that b*****d had finally let her best brother go.
"No sorries." But, naturally, she didn't let him pull away. Not now. Not over this. "Alright?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:56 pm
He made an incredulous noise. "I don't think..." Didn't think he was cut out for that love business, that maybe it was really all in books and not for people like him. Horace felt as though something must be wrong with him, intrinsically, to have fallen and failed in so many ways. It was so easy to slip back into believing everything Jan had told him. Harley was so... happy, all the time. How did she do it? "No.. no sorries. I'm s-" orry. He bit his tongue and tried to chase away his thoughts. He sighed and patted her hair. "Tell me what you've been up to?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:10 pm
"Whaaat?! Yes you do!" Hattie laughed, protesting his self-proclaimed inability to think. She was teasing him now, apparently and clearly, and head butted him lightly for his troubles. Instead of pulling away, she kept her forehead against his, even if it made looking at him very awkward.
"Everything'll be okay, Little Brother. It'll hurt for a while, but then you'll remember that there are way better people in the world. Ones that won't ruin you to make them feel important." Gods, did she hate what Jan had done to him. So very much. "You're a great guy, Horace. You deserve someone who isn't a complete and total dink."
He tried to apologize again, and she pinched him playfully as she leaned back again, enough to actually look at him while they talked.
"All bad things, I assure you." She squared her shoulders proudly. "Nah, I've just been helping Zeke with this deep-sea research stuff. It's been pretty cool. I have a use for my wet suit now! Isn't that great?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:22 pm
She was wrong, he thought. Horace didn't deserve things like that. He deserved what he'd gotten. But he didn't have the energy to argue with any of what she said, so he only shook his head, hair falling around his face, and watched as she talked about the things she'd done. "Zeke is pretty much 'bad things', huh?" He tried to inject a teasing note into his voice. "But that's cool, Hattiecat - you should, I dunno vivisect something." One the word vivisect, his fingers poked into her sides.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:40 pm
Hattie corrected his head shake by grabbing his face one more time, and gently forcing him to nod. "Aww, look, see? You're a great person and you know it!" She had enough sense to release him immediately, and pull him in for another squeezing hug.
"Hah! I'm the 'bad things' there. I'll have you know I am completely awful to him!" Once more, she squared herself proudly, and lapsed into amused chuckles. "Seriously, sometimes, I don't know why I have friends." Especially male ones. So many male ones. "I don't-WAH!" She cried suddenly as his fingers pressed into her sides, jumping like a shot for a moment. Then, with a small whine, she tried to swat his hands away. "Nnnooooo!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:46 pm
"Clearly, all your guy friends, and probably your lady friends - besides me, of course - have designs upon your person," he said in a super serious voice. "The only design I have is this!" Horace smiled, likely for the first time since coming back to the island, and crooked his fingers into ineffectual claws. The war was on, and he reached for her sides again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:48 pm
"Designs huh? How ominous!" Hattie laughed, rolling her eyes until she realized, perhaps a little belatedly, that he was threatening her.
"SWIPER NO SWIPING!" She cried out, both hands going to grab at his wrists, to keep his wiggling fingers from her sides.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:51 pm
He strained dramatically against her grasp, making large, puppy dog eyes at Harley. Finally, Horace exhaled, arranging his face into a pout. It was much easier to be fake sad than real sad, after all.
"Well, fine, Mistress Party Pooper. Wanna put the movie on?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:02 am
She stuck her tongue out at him for the nickname. "Yeah, I can! You get cozy, I'll get set up." Pleased enough with how things were going, Hattie finally crawled off of his lap and moved to the shared desk, removing her jacket, shoes and socks as she went. Horace was here after all, and there was no reason to go and hunt him down anymore, meaning most of these things were now not needed at this time of night.
She grabbed up the borrowed laptop, and turned back to the bed to push the pillows back just enough to nestle the computer - on a few books, to help the fans - on the bed, against the wall.
"It's a loaded laptop. There's a ridiculous amount of movies on here. Was there one that you wanted to see what on here first?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
