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Backdated to February 14th

When Cordelia was young, February 14th had been an excuse for craft projects; scissors, construction paper, glitter and glue. Her grandmother had used it as an excuse to bake; cookies, usually, and if Lucien and his parents were in town, a cake. Her cousin’s birthday had always been more of a reason to celebrate than paper hearts and foil wrapped candies.

Cordy had taken Luc out for lunch that afternoon only to find out that he had a date planned for that evening. She remembered hearing about the event at the museum, seeing flyers and ads posted around town, but hadn’t signed up herself. Blind dates just weren’t her thing, and she’d all but given up on the idea of finding romance. Who had time for it anyways between work, school, battling evil and supporting friends?

Once lunch was over and she’d parted ways with Luc she’d pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts to select ‘Fritz’ from the list and shoot a text his way.

[ Text to Fritz: Happy Singles Awareness Day! I don’t suppose a charming gentleman such as yourself would actually be free this evening? ]

[ Text to Fritz: I was thinking movie night. You, me, the cats, snacks… ]

[ Text to Fritz: Don’t feel obligated to say yes if you’ve got plans or if you’d rather have a boy’s night with just Wendell! ]



He tried not to think about the significance of Valentine’s Day ever, or about the fact that Rhys and Hitch were probably doing something unbelievably soppish, or about any of his other issues that were less than what they had been, but were still more prominent than he would have liked. Fritz had gone on dates when he had been younger and not a Knight; he’d had a girlfriend or two over the years, but it seemed like such a far off, distant concept now that he had trouble thinking of it without inducing a panic attack or a complete shut down.

Which was why, when Cordelia’s text came, Fritz latched onto the idea of doing something other than sitting around mired in his own thoughts with a surprising amount of vigor.



The text was cut off, as it always was, because Fritz was nothing if not completely incapable of handling the majority of technology.



It was unclear what the number meant, possibly that he was coming over at six, possibly that Cordy should come over at six.

Fortunately, a last text followed:





When the first of his messages came through she laughed softly, giving it a moment to see if he sent through a correction-- Or a curse word, honestly. A number followed, though, and she stared at the screen of her phone for a bit wondering whether or not she should just call him.

As her phone buzzed in her hand once more she glanced down. “Here,” she read the word aloud, brow slightly furrowed as she gave it a second longer to see if another text would follow. When it didn’t she scrolled back up, reading the three texts in immediate succession. “That sounds lovely. Six. Here.”

The number six made infinitely more sense with ‘here’ following after it. Six o’clock at Fritz’s apartment for movies. That was perfectly reasonable and she shouldn’t have a problem making it there on time.

[ Text to Fritz: Sounds good to me! Should I bring anything along? ]



Fritz’s lack of technological prowess was almost legendary at this point.

Only a single text followed Cordelia’s question:



Presumably, he meant food and the cat, not a cat made out of food or vice versa. It was debatable.



Rather than ask what food or if there was anything he might want, Cordelia shot back a quick ‘see you then’ before checking the time. If she left her apartment within the next thirty minutes it would give her enough time to pick up a few things before heading to Fritz’s apartment. Perfect. “Eta! We’re going to spend the evening with Fritz and Wendell tonight… That is provided you don’t have any plans other than lounging around?”

The silver tabby stretched as she rose to her paws, tilting her head up to eye the raven haired woman for a moment. “Plans? Not at all. I haven’t met nearly enough others to have made plans with anyone else. Fritz and Wendell, you say?”

“Yes, Fritz and Wendell,” she called from her room where she was pulling on an oversized sweater over her camisole top, letting it hang slightly off of her shoulder as she grabbed her bag. She checked to make sure that both her phone and wallet had made their way into her bag along with her keys before shooing Eta towards the door.

Together they made it out the door and to a Chinese restaurant offering an assortment of take out options that, from her experience, held their warmth rather well in transit. She checked the clock again as she waited, taking the brown bag with a smile once it was set before her leaving her on her way to her friend’s apartment just in time.




He was at least dressed, this felt like progress to Fritz, who was neither good with too many directions at once, or trying to figure out where he was even going or what he was doing with his life. A pair of khakis and a white dress shirt were paired with some dark socks and a dark blue sweater patterned with argyle was what the final ensemble ended up being, and it was what he answered the door in when Cordelia knocked.

Wendell launched himself at her as soon as the door was open, curling around her shoulder like a sleek brown mink and nosing at her hair.

“Cordelia, it is totally awesome to see you,” he said, and Fritz, who had opened his mouth in greeting, merely shut it again, fighting back a mad urge to laugh. Instead, he simply stepped aside and gestured the two - well, three, including Wendell - inside.

“Good evening,” he said, sounding amused, Fritz shutting the door behind them. He immediately reached out and lifted the bags from Cordy’s hands, whisking them away to the adjoining kitchen. “This smells delicious, thank you.”

The majority of the large loft looked the same as it always had - impeccably clean, impressively tidy - except on the coffee table in front of the sofa there was a small bowl of Valentine’s Day candies and a bouquet of brightly colored flowers in varying shades of red and pink and orange and yellow.

“How are you? This is a lot of food, it looks divine. And who’s this?”

He was gesturing at the accompanying cat; Fritz knew that Cordy had acquired one, but they’d never formally met.



Cordelia laughed out of a combination of amusement and surprise, grateful when Fritz reached out to help her with the bags that she’d nearly dropped when the guardian had leapt up to greet her. The raven haired woman brought a hand up to lightly scratch behind the nimble cat’s ear. “It’s good to see you too, Wendell. I trust you’ve been taking good care of Fritz?”

It was easy to question the cat first as he seemed to be demanding the most attention, but she followed up easily enough in answering her friend. “Fritz St James, please allow me to introduce you to Eta. I would have brought her by to meet you sooner, but…”

“Cordelia has had lovely things to say about you, Mister St James.” A velvety voice came from the silver tabby as she trotted in alongside Cordelia, eying the young woman for a moment as she preoccupied herself with the other mauvian. Not one for jealousy, Eta simply took to following after Fritz instead, mindful to stay out from under his feet as he entered the kitchen. “I believe she ordered sashimi for Wendell and I.”

“I did!” she piped up. “I picked out a few things that seemed interesting-- I do hope I got something you’ll actually eat out of it all.” The sashimi was in a separate bag to keep it from getting warm along with the rest of the food, and at least one of the containers was filled with steamed vegetables that had been tossed in a brown sauce. The rest was an assortment of rice, noodles and protein, all smelling absolutely divine.



Wendell purred by way of greeting. “Yes, I most certainly have!” he said with pleasure, and leapt down from Cordelia’s shoulders once she had come inside, though he didn’t go very far, making his way towards the island in the kitchen, where he leapt up onto the nearest chair expectantly.

Fritz, meanwhile, had glanced down at the cat accompanying his friend, his expression softening.

“A pleasure, Eta,” he said, as he began unpacking everything. “I’ve heard mention of you before, but I am quite pleased to be making your acquaintance now. This is Wendell - “ He indicated the cat. “You’re free to make yourself as comfortable as possible while here, please make yourself at home.”

To Cordy, he said, “Well, I’m sure I will, this all looks fantastic.”

There were plenty of paper goods stacked on the table and island. Fritz indicated them and began ladling food onto one of the plates.

“Did you have a movie in mind to watch tonight?”



“It is a pleasure to meet you finally as well,” the silver tabby purred, almost seeming to smile as she left the job of bothering the humans to Wendell while she went to find a comfortable perch on the back of the sofa. She leapt gracefully from the floor to the plush cushioning, mindful of her claws as she stuck the landing. Despite Fritz’s invitation to make herself at home she resisted the urge to knead at the cushion before lying down on it, stretching out and flexing her toes before curling up instead.

Cordelia, on the other hand, scooped up one of the paper plates along with a set of the disposable chopsticks that had come along with their meal, going for the vegetables first. Next to land beside that were the lo mein noodles while she pondered chicken, eventually helping herself to a bit of that and one of the bottles of green tea.

“Princess Bride is still on Netflix,” she piped up with a smile. It was one of her favorite movies, although she kept passing it up in favor of binge watching a series or putting on a documentary to fill blank space and silence while she was alone. The movie was one much better enjoyed with company and she hadn’t forced Luc to sit down and watch it with her for the millionth time yet. “Unless you can think of anything else?”




Wendell was peering around at the food, Cordy, and Eta, apparently trying to take in all of this all at the same time - and with only one eye to boot. Eta, meanwhile, seemed to already be making herself comfortable, which pleased Fritz as he watched her lay down on a cushion, curled up like a silver stuffed animal.

It was too cute. He really did have a special place in his heart for the mauvians, even if his own cat, Crook, was not, in fact, powered, and was currently hiding in the bathroom, away from all the noise and the hubbub.

Fritz helped himself to a little of everything, heaping his plate high (he needed a second paper plate to withstand it all), and made a noise of approval at Princess Bride.

“A favorite and a classic,” he declared, with a click of his chopsticks. “That’s perfect, I say let’s put it on.”

He padded back into the living room and climbed onto the couch, plate still in hand, curling his legs beneath him as Fritz made to look for the remote.

“Bollocks, I forgot a drink. Cordy, darling, would you mind very much passing me a bottle of water?”



Cordelia had set her own plate down on the coffee table before heading back to the kitchen to put together a plate for Wendell. She started with a small spoonful of white rice, neatly setting some of the sashimi alongside it without letting it touch. On the opposite side of the plate she added a piece of teriyaki chicken, carefully pulling it off of the stick before pulling it apart to make it easier for Wendell to eat.

If Eta hadn’t settled herself back into sleep mode the moment Fritz had told her to make herself comfortable she might have prepared a plate for the other guardian as well. Instead she rinsed her hands, patting them lightly dry with a dish towel before snagging the plate for Wendell and a bottle of water for Fritz.

“Here you are, Fritz… Wendell, where would you like your plate?” Her brow lofted as she held the plate up for emphasis. Whenever he decided she would set it down and make herself comfortable so they could start the movie.



Wendell was beyond thrilled by Cordelia’s kindness. He leapt from the chair back down to the floor and padded into the living room behind her, letting out a plaintive meow that indicated he was Very Pleased to have food.

“Just here, is fine,” he said happily, as he patted a spot on the floor with a paw. “I won’t mess up the table, thank you very much!”

Fritz was already flipping through the channels now, trying to find the one that had the DVD player attached to it. Something was buzzing, however, and he kept getting a no signal sign, a look of intense concentration on his face even as Cordy handed him a bottle of water, which he set on his lap.

“Thank you. I know it’s here, somewhere…” he muttered distractedly.



Cordelia set the plate down where Wendell indicated, giving him a light scratch behind the ears before stepping back to take a seat on the sofa next to Fritz. The sofa was comfortable, the food smelled wonderful, everyone seemed settled, but…

Her brow lofted slightly at the sound of Fritz beside her and she turned to look to him. “Fritz,” she spoke softly, reaching out to lightly brush her fingers along his wrist before gently covering the hand he had holding the remote. Her touch lingered a bit too long to be considered brief, giving his hand a gentle squeeze and then taking the remote from him.

Fritz’s television seemed a little bit more complicated than her own-- An updated form of the one her parents had at the house, seemed more like it. It took her a moment of eying the buttons on the remote before she pulled up the ap menu, selecting ‘Netflix’ from the dropdown. She plugged in her own login information before handing the remote back over to him.

“Here you go.I believe it’s under romantic comedies…”




Wendell immediately made himself at home stuffing his face, crouching in front of the plate with utter happiness. He would have said thank you, but his mouth was already full of chicken, so Cordelia would receive a happy meow a second later before he dived back into the goodies.

Meanwhile, Fritz was still attempting to figure out which buttons he was supposed to push in order to get the television to work. At this point, his aversion to technology was legendary, secondary only to his apparent gift at also breaking every piece of technology he managed to own; it was a miracle he and Lorne had even managed to keep things from exploding.

There was the gentle brush of fingers against his wrist, startling him; Fritz glanced down, then over at Cordy as she carefully extracted the remote from his hand, then gave his fingers the briefest squeeze. Something in his chest constricted; He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again, because the words weren’t there, lost somewhere inside of his head.

“I was never good at this sort of stuff.” This, after she had handed back the remote, Fritz letting out a small sigh of regret. “I don’t like electronics. I find them daunting.”

He at least could find the movie. Fritz hit play and then carefully set the remote back down before he broke something.

“Is that...strange?” he asked, after a moment, his cheeks reddening slightly, oddly self conscious about this one small fact.




“Strange? No.” Cordelia shook her head with only honesty in mind. She carried a pen around in her purse that, with the right words, could change her into a magical girl with special powers made for fighting the forces of darkness. That her friend, a young man with a gentle soul, drew power from an ancient library connected to an outpost in space only added to how ‘strange’ things could truly be. His aversion to technology seemed absolutely average when compared to that. It was endearing and it…

She didn’t let her mind finish the thought, lips pressing into a warm, reassuring smile for him. “It’s probably the least strange thing about either of us-- The strangest currently being that neither of us have actually eaten anything yet despite both of us having full plates.” Her elbow gently nudged his before she shifted to scoop up her own plate and chopsticks only to settle back against the cushions, hoping that he would relax a bit again as well.

On the back of the sofa behind them Eta had opened one eye to peer between the two of them, silently observing (and possibly judging in the way that only a feline could) while saying nothing. Cordelia would, no doubt, ask for her opinions once they were back at her apartment later. It was something young women did, she was starting to notice, but she didn’t mind as it gave her a chance to get to know the girl who was also her senshi better.




He remembered Lorne and he, sitting on the floor of the living room, trying to put together the television set in the first place. The knight meeting, where Mont Blonc had accidentally called him. The dozens of accidental, half-finished text messages that Fritz had sent out. He was not good at technology and never would be, half because he thought it useless, and half because it was intimidating in a way that other things weren’t.

The reassurance was warm, gentle coming from Cordelia. Fritz felt himself relax, ever so slightly, and he gave a small nod, ignoring the little twist in his stomach at the smile she was giving him, which somehow felt personal. The small nudge to his arm made him laugh, Fritz easing himself back onto the couch,

“You’re right,” he said, as the movie started to play, “I need to taste this chicken, it’s positively calling my name.”

There was a pause, as Buttercup wafted across the screen, and then Fritz said, carefully, quietly,

“Thank you, by the way. For…” He struggled to find the right words. “...all of this, I suppose.”



“You’re welcome, Fritz… And thank you too.” Cordelia had given him a look that said she wouldn’t accept any protests in regards to thanking him as well, attempting to make it clear that if he’d tried she would only point him towards the television and table the discussion until after the movie, provided either of them remembered afterwards.

As the credits began to roll she stood to take her plate back to the kitchen, pausing there for just a bit longer in order to put together a small sample of things for Eta similar to what she had for Wendell. The plate was left for the silver tabby to nibble now that she was awake. Cordelia gave the feline a light scratch behind the ears as she leaned against the sofa, looking to Fritz with a thoughtful expression. If anyone had told her that this was how she was going to spend Valentine’s Day…

“I think it’s time to stretch a bit, freshen up a little, get something else to drink… And maybe watch Stardust, if you’re up for another movie?” Due to the late hours she kept due to patrolling the city as Sailor Corvus, or waiting tables during shows over the weekends at the Paw, Cordelia was used to staying up late. It wasn’t quite nine yet and while she didn’t want to continue imposing if Fritz was tired of company she wasn’t ready to head home alone yet either.



It was relaxing, in spite of his initial nervousness, to know that his...well, whatever it was, was not a problem for Cordy. Fritz gave her a grateful smile, settling down into the couch more comfortably, something easing in his chest. He gave a little nod, as though to say good, and turned his head back to the movie.

That was a relaxing thing, as well. Fritz’s empty plate was sitting on the coffee table, and he had pulled his legs up beneath him, a pillow held in his lap, arms wrapped around it. Wendell was curled on his toes between himself and Cordy, sound asleep, sprawled lazily, sleek brown body rising and falling slowly with every breath.

“Stardust, yes, please,” said Fritz, though he didn’t get up. He probably should have, but he was comfortable, after all. “If you want to be a darling, you could get me another bottle of water…” he added, giving Cordy an innocent look as he fiddled with the remote again, trying to figure it out.

“How does one find...Stardust on here…”



“I will get you a bottle of water on my way back through if you get up and stretch your legs.” Cordelia smiled, leaning over the back of the sofa to brush a chaste kiss to his cheek without thinking before shifting back on her feet. Her fingers laced together as she extended her arms above her head, stretching out slowly as though she had been just one more cat lounging on the couch.

“I think you can use the direction buttons to highlight the ‘search’ feature back on the main menu and use the keyboard on the screen to pull it up. If it’s not on Netflix I do, at the very least, have it uploaded to my digital library on Google.” Stardust was one of her personal favorites; a feel good movie with just enough of a foolish romance to make it seem a bit more realistic for a fairy tale despite the obvious fantasy setting. “Stretch first and worry about the movie second, Fritz.”

“You should,” the silver tabby paused to yawn as she hopped back up onto the arm of the couch after finishing off the last of her own meal; late, of course, but all on her own time, “mm… Probably listen to her. She can be quite determined when she wants to be, Mister St. James.”




He froze.

The kiss to his cheek was an imprint, a memory, a feeling, a - something. Fritz felt the warmth of it sweeping through him, a steady, quiet thing, and Cordy had already moved on, stretching, and time kept moving, and something in Fritz’s heart ached.

He pressed a button that he thought was the search button and the screen went black.

“Bollocks.” Fritz tried another button, focusing on the remote, on something right in front of him. “This is - wait, I thought that was the search, it seems to be - what is that, power - yes, I’ve heard of this legendary stubbornness,” he said distractedly to Eta, still focused on the remote, brows furrowed in concentration.

“Maybe if I press this button here - oh, it made a noise - “



“Seems it might be something the two of you have in common.” Eta’s whiskers twitched with a mild trace of amusement as she watched Fritz take on the troublesome technology. He seemed to be faring far better against it than she would have. He did have fingers, though, and she supposed that made a world of difference.

“What about that button?” A dainty paw extended, lightly batting at the remote as though she had any idea at all what might work-- She didn’t, of course, but it was worth a shot if it meant she was actually being helpful. Besides, if it came down to it maybe he’d abandon the remote and give her a good scratch behind the ear until Cordelia came back instead.

While Fritz waged war with the remote, Eta assisted and Wendell napped Cordelia saw herself to the washroom, pausing to splash a bit of water into her face. She looked to herself in the mirror while lightly rubbing at her cheeks and for a moment she almost didn’t recognize the young woman staring back at her. Bright eyes, warm smile, lightly flushed face? If she didn’t know better, and if the lack of entirely too much makeup wasn’t proof, she might have thought she was looking at a younger version of herself; fresh out of Crystal without a care in the world beyond dusting youma and whether or not she’d find herself invited to parties over the weekend.

Cordelia shook her head, lightly patting at the few droplets of water on her face with her sleeve before heading back out to join Fritz. She paused in the kitchen long enough to snag another bottle of water, per his request, hoping he hadn’t been fighting too hard with the remote since she’d gotten up.




Wendell was still snoozing quite peacefully, even as Fritz fiddled more with the remote and Cordy moved about the loft with ease. He gave Eta a small, rueful smile, because, well, she wasn’t wrong about the stubbornness, but most of his attention was focused on trying to get the movie going.

“Oh, perhaps - “ he said, as Eta’s paw poked a button. Fritz jabbed at it, and the screen went black, then white, then gave him some sort of error sign. Beside him, Wendell stretched, a jingle of coins as his head popped up, and he came to rest with his chin on Fritz’s arm, peering curiously at the remote as well.

Fritz’s chest was still aching. His face still remembered the way that light kiss had felt, soft against his cheek.

No.

Think of something else. Think of anything else.

When Cordy came back, it would be to find Fritz still messing with the remote, with both Eta and Wendell poking at it as well. Wendell had crawled up Fritz’s back and now lay draped over one shoulder with his front paws dangling over Fritz’s chest like some sort of lazy scarf, while Eta was still where she’d initially been.

The television screen was now blue instead of white.

“Maybe if you press this button,” Wendell was saying enthusiastically.



“We’ve already tried that button, Wendell.” The silver tabby’s tail ticked idly, batting lightly at the arm of the couch as she stretched out on it, mindful of her claws and the upholstery. Nothing they’d tried in their combined efforts had seemed to work so that probably meant that it was time for another nap.

The flash of blue on the screen had caught her attention from the kitchen where she’d paused to grab the bottle of water for Fritz. Listening to the two guardians and their attempt to help him had made her crack a smile that she was trying very hard to keep from blossoming into a grin. Her lips pressed together as she made her way back over to the sofa, mouth flexing to get her expression under control. It was a slightly stifled yawn that did the trick in the long run, one hand coming up to cover her mouth as the other held the water out to her companion.

“Trade you? Water for the confounded contraption before the cats continue on with their expert assistance?” Just looking at it, the blue screen at least just seemed to look like they’d changed what input the television was on, which would be easy enough to back out of. An icon in the corner left the impression that someone had hit the ‘Mute’ button.




Wendell swatted at the remote, but didn’t quite reach it from his drapey towel position over Fritz’s shoulder. “What about the one next to it? The one that looks like a triangle? That one looks like an awesome button to try.”

Fritz missed the yawn, if only because he was still trying to figure out the damn remote. Cordy’s question, however, made him glance up, and he gave her a somewhat sheepish look that was also sort of indignant, except not really in the irritated way.

“I’ll have you know, I’m doing great,” said Fritz delicately, and hit the triangle button.

The television screen went fuzzy.

Fritz gave it approximately thirteen and a half seconds before giving a little cough and then passing the remote over to Cordy.

“Er. Maybe you should.”



“So very kind of you, Fritz.” Cordelia’s fingers brushed lightly against his as she took the remote, possibly lingering for a moment-- Or maybe it just felt like the lingered.

It took a moment of glancing over the buttons before she was able to undo a bit of the chaos, unmuting the television, changing the input back to the wifi connection and doing a brief search through the Netflix library. Compared to Fritz and the two felines she made the entire process look easy. It hadn’t been that way for her at first, of course. Technology might not have confounded her the way it did Fritz, but approaching something new for the first time was always frustrating.

“Here we go!” She smiled brightly as she settled back onto the sofa, folding one leg neatly beneath her as she did so. Fritz had the sort of couch that was easy to get comfortable on; it always seemed that way to her, at least. That he was there too, that everything felt so normal and right on nights like this? One day you’ll wake up and it’ll all be gone.

Her nose wrinkled as she set the remote down between them, lips pursed ever so slightly for a moment before she could shake it off. Her brow lofted when she tilted her head to look his way, smile creeping back into place. “Are you certain you don’t want to stretch before we start the movie?”



His heart was behaving strangely. Fritz tugged his pillow back onto his lap and wrapped his arms around it as Cordy messed with the television, pressing several buttons and making the screen change color - though admittedly, a better color than it had been. Wendell crawled off of his shoulder and oozed onto the armrest, curling up in a happy ball with his paws tucked beneath him.

“Oh, perfect,” said Fritz, as the movie finally popped onto the screen. He took a drink of water, then tucked the bottle by his legs, feeling absurdly comfortable, even if his chest was still tighter than it should have been. He wasn’t entirely sure why, or entirely sure he even wanted to know why, Fritz burying the feelings inside of his head.

“I’m fine!” he said brightly, flashing Cordy a smile. “Really. Let’s start the movie, shall we?”



Cordelia’s gaze lingered on Fritz for a moment, a wave of warmth flooding her at his smile. When Fritz smiled it was like sun breaking through clouds on an overcast day. It was bright and wonderful and she was staring. Rose touched her cheeks as she glanced away, her own smile now somewhat sheepish as she reached for the remote again in order to start the movie.

Stardust had a way of making her feel like a little girl again in a way that only a feel good fairytale could. Throughout most of the movie she was all smiles and starry-eyed wonder as she curled up against her side of the couch, at one point shifting to reach behind her for a throw blanket as she might have if she were on her own sofa at home. When she found none immediately beneath her fingers her nose wrinkled and she turned to glance away from the television to the cushions behind her. The throw was folded neatly over the center of the sofa’s back cushions, seemingly marking the invisible barrier between the two of them on the couch.

Stars, it’s just a blanket, she chided herself mentally, before reaching out to lightly take hold of a corner of the throw, tugging it down between them before shifting just a bit closer to the center of the couch as she spread the throw out.

Wendell’s move to the armrest of the couch had displaced the silver tabby, delicate nose lightly wrinkled in his general direction. She stretched on her toes before hopping up onto the back of the couch herself, nestling comfortably once more just off to the side of Fritz’s head. From there she had a proper vantage point of the television as well as whatever nonsense might pass between the two humans.



He was watching the movie, but it felt slightly difficult to concentrate when he was aware - too aware - of Cordy shifting beside him. The blanket was tugged away, dragged out of the space between them, and she was making herself more comfortable, Fritz hugging the pillow to his chest.

Eta was somewhere behind his head. Wendell was to the side of him, zonked out on the armrest. Cordy was next to him, and Fritz took a part of the blanket, draping it over his own legs, offering Cordy a tentative smile that somehow felt like it stuck in his throat.

It was so...warm. It was hard to think properly. Fritz felt his eyelids growing heavier throughout the movie, his fingers curling reflexively around his pillow, though his grasp had loosened.

Why is this so…

The thought was not finished. Fritz’s eyes fell shut, head tilting sideways, hair brushing over Cordy’s shoulder as he drifted off to sleep.