dumbshow | probably not depressing

[Okay but that doesn't make him loud, Knuckle!! Shoot lets him smush his hair into his forehead without backing down. He's all set to argue some more about how he can get up, he's in better shape than Knuckle, he can handle this - but, oh.

Well if they both go to bed, that does solve the problem of Knuckle stumbling around and probably throwing up somewhere he shouldn't. So-??] That's fine. You going to bed is the whole point.

[A few crucial details may not occur to him in this moment, but oh well. He doesn't move yet, waiting for Knuckle to get up first before he believes this isn't an elaborate (no) fake out!!]

You think you're gonna trick me? Is that it? Huh?? HUH?

[He's all riled up now, Shoot, look what you've done. He pulls back with a scoff, pointing dramatically down the hallway.]

If I go to my bed, you go there too! Meaning, we've gotta be in the same room or you could be doing anything! Those are my conditions!

[Shoot would rather he not be riled up, as he's loud and liable to be sick at any moment if he doesn't hold still!!

But what's this, he has to sit around in Knuckle's room? Does Knuckle even have a chair for him to collapse on, hm...

crucial details]

Then I accept. [And like that, he's leaning away to get up... slowly.] Come on.

[For a while, Knuckle stays frozen in place, staring grimly after his partner. What. He wasn't supposed to agree, he was supposed to find that weird! Or get shy! Or not want to spend any more time with him!! Ah, wait, what is he saying, he's not trying to aim for that--

But still, this... Is it the longest they've spent together outside of a mission or training? Even while sharing an apartment.

He stands up with that overly serious look on his face, leaving his water there on the table as he heads down the hallway.]

Fine! But I'm not sleeping so early. You gotta sleep too, don't go forgetting that! [And, for the record, the only chair in his room has broken. There's a story there somewhere. He's got a desk, a bed, and tons of fighting posters all over his walls. That's about it.]

[Shoot stands there and just looks down at Knuckle while he- freezes, or something, waiting for him to get up. What's his damage now? He lost the stupid argument?? Well that's just too bad. Too bad Shoot is always right!

None of which he says as he follows Knuckle in slightly grim silence. It still hurts to move...]

Are you going to wait? [Don't do that, he'll never actually get to sleep if he's being watched. And, hm, no chair - so, the floor??]

I might!

[He's not telling! He immediately sits at the top of his bed, near the pillows, and leaves his legs over the side. After some hunching there for a moment and holding his head, he squints across at Shoot.]

And what're you doing? Sit down over here, already! [The floor isn't an option?? He's forcing Shoot into this hell, all for nagging.]

[He's honestly wondering if he should sit on the floor, maybe by the door... He glances up from staring at the floor when Knuckle speaks, and only then do the crucial details make themselves available to him.

Over there?

As in-?

If he had still been drunk he would have suddenly sobered up abruptly at that. Since he's not, he can only stand there looking appropriately shocked. No, this isn't- this didn't even occur to him-!! He's rooted to this spot by the door all of a sudden, wholly unable to make himself move even an inch. Hm.]

What?

[Oh... Is this--? Is this where he'll get the hesitation?!

Somehow, Knuckle's face gets a little darker. His chin lowers even if he smiles (it's more of a smirk), and slowly, he pats the spot next to him on the bed. Yes, he should have known from the start, Shoot was allergic to things like this, or something!]

I said come here, stupid! What's the matter? Shy?

[knuckle's hesitation fetish rears its ugly head]

[Shoot finds the will to move and takes a half-step back, instead. This isn't what he meant at all! He backtracks mentally, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he went wrong with all of this. To think, just minutes ago he had a passable amount of confidence in what he was doing...!

He shakes his head. That's a "no," not an "I'm not shy." He is really goddamn shy.]

I can stay over here. Your- your bed's too small.

[thIS MAKES IT WORSE RIP SHOOT]

Are you kidding?

[Fine, he'll get up off the bed and walk over there himself! Ignore how he wobbles a little at first-- he just got up too fast. Soon enough, he's going to be trying to wrap an arm around wherever he can reach on Shoot, ushering him towards the bed.

Even better, surely.]

How can I know you're sleeping, too, you big cheat! Sit down! Come on, you agreed to it!

You can look— [Look with your eyes, Knuckle. He leans away uselessly, if only because he's in no state to turn and bolt out of the door but has to express somehow that this is not very comfortable for him.

He refuses to be ushered!! Refuses!]

I agreed to be in the room, nothing else!

I can't look if I'm sleeping! But if you move next to me, I can tell!

[It's flawless. He frowns at Shoot pulling back, though, withdrawing his arm for the time being.]

Come on, what's the big deal? We're both men! [That doesn't help.] We're partners! [Knuckle stop.] It's like that time the old man's clunker broke down in the middle of nowhere and we all had to sleep in the back! Minus him being there, though... It's even more room!

[Absolutely none of that helps. Mentioning Morel might even make it several times worse, as Shoot can just picture him smirking so knowingly at this- this! What is this?

He opens his mouth to say something, reconsiders, closes it again. Then he turns slightly away, looking at nothing in particular in some spot on the floor again, thinking.

Maybe if he just... waits for Knuckle to fall asleep, then flees- Ahh, will that work? Is he tired and sore all over enough to just do this and pretend not to panic?

An especially nasty twinge of his headache convinces him - when he looks back around to Knuckle, he looks absolutely grim. No offense...]

Fine. [He'll even- shuffle a little in the right direction. He is in misery.] I'm only doing this so you'll stop running around sick.

[Now he doesn't even care about sleeping. He just cares that he's going to one up Shoot. Heading over faster than Shoot, he sits back down, and this time he kicks his feet up to lay there too. He's all the way on one side so that there's room for Shoot, too!

But the longer he lays there and waits, smugly, the longer he gets to think about all of this. The slower Shoot is, the more he frowns, and eventually, he peers over at him quizzically.]

Seriously, what's the big problem? I'm not gonna bite!

[WHy... does he offend... He's suddenly hurt now.]

[Don't- interrupt his slow progress! Shoot falters, boggling down at Knuckle on the bed - he was in the middle of talking himself up to going through with this, and Knuckle just has to keep making comments. Ugh.]

That's not, I mean... [don't look at him like that] Shut up.

[Ah, wait- damn it, what is he trying to accomplish. He sighs mostly at himself and crosses the rest of the way in a couple quick strides, sits down- even gets his legs onto the bed, although he doesn't actually lie down.

He also does all of this with his eyes closed, shut up.]

[He just stares even more at that, honestly. Why... Why is he acting more scared than during the whole start of that horror movie?! He's so hesitant, cut it out! He was enjoying it a moment ago, but that was before he realized the implications!]

Come on... [He nudges Shoot with his hand.] Don't you want to lie down, too? Your head's gotta be killing you.

[Shoot sighs, the long-suffering sigh of someone who has since learned that wanting to do something and mustering up the emotional capacity required to do that thing are not the same. He's not trying to be like this, he's just- anxious and miserable. Often.]

It is... [A lot, in fact. Yet again, this is what gets him to move and lie down, although he's still pretty tense.

Gotta look somewhere else, anywhere but right at Knuckle-]

... What did you do to your chair?

.....

[Those dots are him making vague mumbling noises under his breath like he doesn't want to remember the Chair Incident. But eventually, he recalls that he's been trying to get to know Shoot better, and so he'll answer.]

I got tired of work, so I started practicing a move [that he saw on tv] and it broke. Just the leg! [Which is important??? For a chair??? Knuckle.]>/small>

[Shoot keeps looking over at the poor abused chair until Knuckle starts to explain; by then he thinks he can turn his head and look at his face without breaking out in a cold sweat, which is progress.

He broke it trying to train in his tiny bedroom... Shoot looks at him in mild disbelief, before quickly turning his head the other way again so the fact that he's surprisingly close to laughing is less obvious. Knuckle...]

So it was a good move? [Shoot is a great friend.] You should replace it.

It was a great move!

[HELL YEAH... He says this defensively even with Shoot's commentary, because really, he broke his chair. He knows how this looks. He knows what this says. Shut the hell up, don't say anything, you better keep being a good friend like that!]

I keep meaning to, but things've been kinda hectic lately... [Like, he's been at the hospital with Shoot 24/7.]

[That this was fairly recent makes it only slightly less ridiculous, Shoot thinks. And he frowns at the chair a little now, because ah, yes... "hectic." He thinks of everything that happened before he was hospitalized, at first, which naturally isn't a great memory.

But they are here, talking about chairs, so it all turned out okay in the end- right? Er.]

Maybe if your other errands didn't take so long... ["maybe if you didn't pet every dog in the city"]

I only do errands sometimes! Got it?!

[shUT THE HELL UP. Don't remind him of the puppy incident of yesterday. ...Or any of the puppy incidents. Maybe it's more than sometimes. He fumes for a bit, shuffling in place to get more comfortable and probably bouncing the bed all over with it.]

'Sides, it has to be a good chair that won't break so damn easily. [Easily, he says, like it wasn't his fault.] It's gonna take time!

[There are puppy incidents twice a week and he's even present for a good chunk of them, please... In any case, he's momentarily distracted by being jostled - he starts to say 'Knuckle, stop it' and gives up too soon, so it's more like 'nuh'.

Both of them, graceful as the day is long. At least Shoot's looking at him again instead of at his furniture.]

It's just a chair. Borrow mine if you really need one.

I don't need it...

[He can stand! Or crouch! Or sit on the floor. He's been trying all of these things, lately. If Shoot were home he'd have been able to hear all the frustrated noises and yelling from alone in his room.]

I can still kinda use that one! [no. it's mangled...] Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll keep putting it off until I feel like it. Don't you ever do that?

[He can imagine that, which makes him a little glad he only saw Knuckle when he came to ~~cry~~ visit recently.

Don't use the chair. This variety of Shoot's grim looks is the one that says that chair is missing a leg, don't sit on it, please. In answer to the question he says, automatically,] No.

[But, ah... well. Is hiding for a month necessarily the same thing, he wonders. He looks- at the ceiling?? The ceiling won't judge him.] Not on purpose...

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