Movie Night VI: Direct to DVD

[unrecovered]

Who| Wash and anyone who wants to join
What| Movie night!
Where| The same lounge it's always in
When| After Time Ripples, Mind Slayer, and Wash Dies At The End
Warnings/Notes| Yet another classic!

It's been an odd few weeks, to say the least. Wash barely waits to be out of the hospital before he heads to the lounge to set up a movie night. He's had a request for a classic, and he'd managed to get in an order for the film before everything had gone batshit insane, so it's already arrived and he's just about ready to go.

The usual snacks and drinks are set up, along with a few mugs and goblets that are a little closer to theme. There's also the usual sofas and couches, draped with blankets and with bean bag chairs strewn around around the room. The usual sign hangs outside the door, with the movie's MPAA rating and a brief summary of the movie's plot, along with the usual note: Movie night is neutral territory.

The movie tonight, of course, is The Princess Bride.

Comments

[goddamngrenades]

"...You get where I was going now, wanting to skip this part?" Just. Dive into the fun, warm, comfortable part of being with someone and avoiding all this existential dread. The flirting, the fun, the casual camaraderie- it'd been nice for the half second he'd had it before Locus locked up and wondered what the fuck was going on.

Kind of impossible to reach for that now.

Doesn't stop him from turning enough to make room at his side, from extending an arm to Locus. Wiggle his fingers in a 'come here' curl. In this quiet space where everything feels so massive and he feels so small...maybe he can steal a little of what he'd wanted earlier. Before they had to leave and put this away for good.

[agnominal]

Ache.

Ache is the proper word for this feeling. It strains until it feels like it might burst, wraps tight around his chest until he can barely draw breath. But on the outside? Nothing. Everything's still, calm, illuminated by the cold lights overhead, twinkling indifferently down.

York beckons, and Locus follows. He slots into that space left open for him at his side and, as if out of habit, his arm slides around his back to anchor him close.

[goddamngrenades]

Easiest thing in the world to pull himself close. Settle against the warmth of Locus' ribs and that was the first red flag. The last warning that this could be, is, a painful problem in the making. He puts that form his mind in the moment. Focuses on the thud of Sam's heart, the bulk of his waist under his arm as he slips it around his back. the heat he puts off like a radiator.

Waking up like this every day...it wouldn't be terrible. Another point of data filed away for future reference when he's not so tired.

[agnominal]

It is, separate from everything else, completely perfect. There's a strange peace in this singular moment, knowing that this is all they're going to allow themselves before everything goes back to the way it was before. He will mask the hurt and he will find ways to channel it all, later.

Now? He soaks it in. The incredible view, the way York fits against his side just so, and the shared warmth of that simple embrace, side-by-side.

He's lucky to have even this much, after everything. He won't waste time regretting a single moment of it.

[goddamngrenades]

"...can we still be- you know. Bros?" Even if the way he sets his cheek to Locus' shoulder, the curl of his fingers around the angle of his hip is distinctly un-bro-like. With this hanging under everything they do. The awareness that if not for York being too chickenshit to get his head together, if not for the inevitability of it's ending in the most anticlimactic way possible, that they might give it a shot? It's a weighty thing.

But the calm camaraderie. The reassurance that this is real, this calm haven he's found at Sam's side- it's not one that he's so willing to give up just yet.

[agnominal]

And the corner of his mouth ticks upwards before he turns his head, chin resting atop York's head.

"Of course."

What does he know? So far as he's aware, this is simply how friendship is with York. It's always been tactile and testing of boundaries until they overlap. It's always been a certain level of closeness.

They still have this. It's not going anywhere. So they'll both manage. They'll be alright. They'll just never really find out what might have been otherwise.