It happens to everyone - sometimes, you have nights where you just can't fall asleep, no matter what you do. It could be for a number of reasons, or no reason at all. And this is what's happened now: you've been laying in bed for what feels like hours, just tossing and turning, and nothing seems to help. So what's left to do? Get out of bed and go wake someone else up, of course. If you're not getting any sleep, then why should they?
i n s t r u c t i o n s • Post with your character (note the name and fandom in the subject).
• Other people reply to you by generating a number from 1 to 10.
• Have fun!
o p t i o n s 01 • FEAR. Maybe you're hearing strange, indeterminable noises; maybe there's a severe storm happening outside; maybe you watched a scary movie before bed? Whatever the reason, you're terrified and it's keeping you awake. You just want to wake someone else up so they can protect you from the monster in your closet.
02 • HUNGER. Your stomach is growling and it just won't stop. Or perhaps your throat is so dry you could cough up a tumbleweed? Well, you've gone to the kitchen to remedy this and hey, that was a pan that just dropped on the floor. It was loud enough to wake the dead! Oops.
03 • PAIN. Your body is completely worn out, be it from exercise, battle, sickness, or what have you. Either way you're in enough pain to keep you from sleeping, so maybe someone else has a home remedy or something, or can at least help you take your mind off of it.
04 • SOLITUDE. For some reason, your bed just feels so empty at the moment. You're feeling terribly lonely and really just want someone to keep you company for a while. Maybe it'd be easier to fall asleep if you're with them...
05 • DISCOMFORT. Your room is an oven. Either that or a freezer. Or maybe this bed is just really uncomfortable? Who knows why you can't get to sleep, it feels like it could be anything. Why even bother trying? Maybe someone else can preoccupy you until you feel tired enough to ignore your discomfort.
06 • PENSIVE. Something's on your mind, and no matter how hard you try to focus elsewhere, it's just not going to work. Your body may be tired, but your mind is incredibly busy and it's virtually impossible to get to sleep. Surely, talking it out with someone else will help?
07 • SADNESS. Something terrible has happened that day, perhaps; or you could just be severely depressed. Either way you're trying your hardest not to cry yourself to sleep, and it's not working at all. Better find a way to get it out of your system somehow; you need a shoulder to cry on.
08 • ANGER. You are just... fuming. Who knows why - that annoying dog is barking again, or maybe the people next door are getting busy and keeping you awake. Whatever the reason for your ire is, you'd better put an end to it so you can get some damn rest already! Go wake up a friend so you can complain to them.
09 • RESTLESS. You're far too energetic to sleep right now. Maybe you're just trying to do so out of necessity - you have to be up early tomorrow! But you just don't think you'll be able to fall asleep for a while now, so why waste the time trying to sleep when you could be doing something else? Namely bothering someone else - you're totally jealous because they're getting more sleep than you.
10 • WILDCARD. Choose one of the options above, or make up your own scenario. |
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bakerstreet2016-07-07 05:55 pm
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I don't know where I would go, [he admits in turn.] I have never been without somewhere to return to. Home would accept me, no matter the trouble I brought... and Overwatch -
[He's quiet for a moment. Talking, thinking about Overwatch always brings up a nasty, complicated tangle of feelings in his chest. He manages to swallow it down.]
... Overwatch gave me a purpose, once that was gone. Now both are gone.
[He hadn't realized that Overwatch and its agents had begun sinking under his skin despite his best efforts until it was all over. The way he could pass time in silence with McCree as the cowboy chattered away or shared the silence with him, once they'd found common ground to keep them from being at each other's throats. Reinhardt's boisterous voice and laughter, his larger-than-life attitude in battle, the way the giant could bring Genji to his knees without effort when he clapped him on the back. Commander Morrison, who had refused to treat Genji as something fragile from the start, refused to put up with his attitude yet always offered what he could to help, no matter how many times Genji pushed it away. Doctor Ziegler, who had taken the worst that Genji had to give yet never stopped caring for him.
Maybe Overwatch meant more to him than Genji had let himself acknowledge.]
What will you do, Doctor?
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How stupid of her. So caught up in her grief. ]
Genji... I have to apologize again, my dear friend. I wasn't thinking of how this has effected you and yet here I am looking to have my hand held. I don't think I can give you advice, but I can... I can help you find your answer. You're not without a home; not so long as I'm around. I have a cabin in California you're welcome to stay at, or a home in Switzerland, if Europe appeals to you more. Please don't ever think you have nowhere to go. I'll have keys made and addresses in your hand tomorrow.
...How far have you traveled? Base to base for Overwatch doesn't count. [ Perhaps he just needs to experience more of the world to find his place. In the meantime, when he's weary, he can always come "home" before deciding where to go next. It isn't like she uses them but a few months out of the year anyway.
Turning the question on her, though, leaves her in silence for a long few moments. What will she do? Well, isn't that why she couldn't quiet her mind? Running all these circles around these questions. ]
I think... I will need time to think on that. I may go stay in the cabin for the winter and see where it gets me. I know I have to let go of Overwatch so everyone else can leave, but I just... [ She shakes her head slowly. Nothing is ever that easy. ] I'm not ready.
I keep thinking about it and I just can't sleep. It's so quiet that there's nothing to take my mind off of it.
[ Her voice only trembles a little bit as she says the words, and saying the words makes it real. That is a hard thing to swallow down and she struggles with it for more than a moment, doing her utmost not to cry. That'd only make her feel worse and she's not sure she'll feel any better afterward. She doesn't have the energy to cry; she just wants... to sleep. Maybe then she'll be able to sort her feelings out. ]
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I did not tell you this to shame you, Doctor, [he says quietly, giving her hands a light squeeze. This is perhaps the most gentle Genji's ever been since he was first dragged into Overwatch. Allowing himself to open up to the doctor has allowed the fear to break past Genji's attempts to hide it, and the behavior is as much an attempt to comfort her as it is to comfort himself. He's scared in a way that he hasn't been since - well... since realizing Hanzo wasn't going to stop until he was dead. A bone deep thing, a feeling he's trying desperately to shake.
Her offer of shelter has him swallowing, touched by how easy she offers it. Even now it's hard for him to believe how kind she is to him, after everything he's put her through. He ducks his head in a gesture of gratitude.]
Thank you. [He has to take a second to compose himself before he can his head again, before he can meet her eye again.] I... have not traveled at all beyond where Overwatch sends me. Perhaps I shall try California first.
[Switzerland? Well, that's a little too close to home right now.
He listens in silence to her confession, his face twisting in empathy. He understands and knows the feeling all too well. He's barely been sleeping himself, too scared of what the days to come hold for him. He doesn't speak immediately, eyes on the floor as he considers things, before an idea strikes him. It has him rising to his feet.]
Do you know how to dance, Doctor? Would you teach me?
[It's a fairly simple activity, he figures, enough to distract but not enough to demand too much attention of the exhausted. Something that could help sleep find its way to both of them.]
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Angela can see he's scared. The expression takes her back to... well, back to the night he'd first been put in her care, mangled and raw. She remembered the look in his eyes when he'd begged to be saved. He hadn't had an inch of flesh for her to hold, then, but she's certain she'll never forget. There's a fraction of that fear in his eyes and her offer was immediate. The relief it'd brought him was a balm on her heart, slipping one hand free to touch his cheek when he lowers his head. Urge him to look back up at her when she smiles, showing him that she was feeling a bit better being able to help him. ]
Even if you say that, I will still apologize. It was wrong of me. I'm only glad I have a home to offer you; not everyone here is so lucky.
[ It's harder to talk about herself, but when he comes up with... such a request, how can she refuse a smile? Confused though it may be, a weary little laugh slipping out of her as he stands and takes her hands with him, leaving her little choice but to stand up with him. ]
I suppose that depends on how you mean; I can do a little bit of formal dance, but that's about where it ends.
[ She's rusty on the fancy footwork from DDR of ages past, and she'd never really gone clubbing when she was younger— just a few formal affairs for the hospital, for Overwatch. Galas for fundraising and the like. ]
I— I can do my best, Genji. Here.
[ She still has one of his hands, so she'll have him raise his arm and push his elbow to lock, mimicking it on her end, before she guides the other to her waist and rests a hand on his bare shoulder. Then, looking down at their feet, hopefully he'll follow suit. ]
It's just a very basic step, but it will be enough to get you by at most dinner parties. I'll move my feet and wait half a beat before the next step so you can follow, all right? Hmmm, let's see...
[ The doctor realizes a distraction for what it was, but it gets her mind focusing on other things and there's a lopsided little smile as she tries to remember what she'd been taught, caught up in the attempt to ease her worries, working with him.
Aaaand back-two-three, up-two-three, pivot, pivot, and she finds herself humming some song that comes to mind and suits the tempo, not quite used to leading and occasionally glancing up at the ceiling as she tries to recall what to do. ]
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So he lets the doctor move his body into position, his eyes following hers to the floor to watch their feet. And Genji is nothing if not a quick learner. He watches her moves and mimics them, stumbling only once or twice in his movements. Mastering footwork is old hand to him. He lets himself drift on following her steps, on the sound of her humming, the tension easing out of his body as he sways across the floor of his bedroom with her.
Once he feels confident he has the patterns down, his eyes move from his feet to her, letting a tired smile curl the corners of his mouth.]
I am surprised anyone can stay awake during this.
[Says the guy who used to club it up almost every night. But the simple, slow motions are soothing, relaxing, and Genji can only hope that it's working out the same for her as it is for him. They both need the rest. Deserve it, after everything that's happened and with everything yet to come.]
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Soon enough she's mincing closer as they settle into each other's movements, comfortable as she closes the distance between them and she can rest her cheek tentatively against his bare chest. The scar tissue twists beneath her skin and she continues humming right into him, the arm over his shoulder relaxing to a limp hold. ]
There are usually more people around, to be fair.
[ He might be able to feel the little smile on her lips with the admission, but after one more lazy round about the room, she'll pry herself from the warmth of his body and lifts his arm, fingertips dancing in his palm to hook his fingers in hers as she twirls herself beneath the arch, holding her hand out for him to do it once more, showing him how to hold onto her so he can guide her around and pull her back close after a turn. ]
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His eyes come back open at her words though the only response he gives is a quiet hum of acknowledgement. Her weight and warmth against him is all too welcome at the moment, despite the issues still lingering with his body. Here the two of them are, dancing in the ghost of a beacon of hope, clinging to one another to avoid drowning.
At least he's not alone.
He's confused when she pulls away at first, but once she starts moving into the spin he understands. Watches and follows her silent directions, lets her twirl before hooking her back close, a smooth motion of his arm around her waist. In that moment she had looked truly ethereal; golden hair swaying with the momentum of her body, her motion easy and graceful, the light of his room drawn to her.
He feels his throat closing up as he pulls her back to him, swallows with difficulty through it. He is entirely too lucky to have her in his life. Or what counts for his life, these days.]
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There'd been a tiny hitch when she first pulled away, but his arm settles right back around her waist as if there were no better place for it and she leans right back into him, smile warming with how he'd been looking at her. With her ear pressed to his chest this way, listening to the strong heartbeat beneath his sternum, she can hear the thick swallow the hand in his eases, taking some of her weight off of him to look up as her humming fades to a stop ands he looks concerned. ]
Genji? Am I hurting you? I'm sorry—
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No, you are not hurting me. I only...
[He trails off, trying to figure out how to word the spiral his thoughts had turned to. After some struggle, he shakes his head and decides to go with an entirely different track. He bows his head, forehead pressed to hers.]
Thank you.
[He's said it more than a few times since he'd begun attempting to fix his attitude toward the good doctor. But it's just as genuine every time.]
For everything you have done.
[It sounds something like a goodbye. He supposes, in a way, that it is. Even if he stays with her for some time after Overwatch is officially disbanded, he knows that eventually he'll have to find answers for himself. He needs to find himself outside of Overwatch, who and what he is now, or forever be chained to everything that was done to him. Beyond that, their relationship has changed too; no longer are they officially doctor and patient, now lingering somewhere between acquaintance and friend. Maybe someday he'll have a chance to find out who she truly is.
But for now he reaffirms the hold he has on her hand to show her he's fine, gives a gentle tug to encourage her back against him.]
Continue dancing with me.
[While they have the time.]
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Genji will feel her brows draw up in an empathetic expression more than see it, a lopsided little smile curling her lips as she looks up through her lashes at him. He had such pretty eyes up close, only seeing the color variation when she's been this close or shined sufficient light in them back when he was first on her table. They were honest and belayed his feelings all too easily.
The tone shouldn't have sounded so sad; why had he worded it in the past tense? Her answer is the same tired old thing, but she'll reach her hands up to cup scarred cheeks and brush her thumbs over his skin affectionately, careful as ever. ]
You'll never need to thank me for what I've done and will do for you. You know that. No matter what you need. We're friends— family, now. You won't be rid of me so easily.
[ And just like that, she's forced her way into his life for good. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, even if he never will, he is a part of her family whether he wishes it or not. She'll rise up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek before he's reaching for her hand and she'll allow him to hold it again, easing back into position with the tug and a warmer smile. He may not think this is much, but he is making her feel better. At least for tonight. ]
You're a quick learner. I think you're already better than I am.
[ It's admitted with a tiny laugh, fear and worry pushed back into a corner and relaxation and warmth soaking into her, making her lethargic. She may be able to sleep like this— and wonders if Genji would mind her staying while she tries. They settle into a comfortable silence for a while until she speaks up again, quiet. ]
Genji... Thank you for this; truly and honestly. I haven't been able to sleep well in days yet I feel like I could manage now, because of you. Thank you for listening. [ And dancing; we can't forget the dancing. She'll rest back against his chest and her eyes close, listening to his heart and swaying with him. ]
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It seems like not long ago that he'd blindly hated her for bringing him back like this. Now... to say he still doesn't harbor some resentment would be a lie; an ugly, dark little pit of it lingers in his chest, a cold, hollow thing, but he's managed to grow at least somewhat and begin to appreciate Doctor Ziegler as he should have from the beginning. He finds that he doesn't mind the idea of having her in his life as much as he might have before.
He lets her settle back in against him, his steps slower now as he tugs them back into what barely resembles a dance now, nothing more than graceful, lazy steps around the floor, nothing more than the warmth and weight of one against the other. Genji finds his eyes closing without thought, drifting until he hears Doctor Ziegler's voice. It's more of a battle to open them again than he expected.]
It is the least I owe you. And we both needed this. [Lest she think he did this only out of a sense of obligation.] Maybe we should - [His words break a moment as he has to stifle a yawn - ] give sleep a try now. You can stay here.
[As if he'd read her mind. But mostly it's because she looks about as exhausted as he feels, so he figures neither of them are about to do any walking. He peels himself away from her in order to collect the pieces of his armor, setting them aside where they'll be safe and won't be a hazard to walking or sleeping. The last thing they need to dispel their well-earned sleepiness is to trip and fall or have something uncomfortable digging into their sides.]
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And she's nodding off herself before his words get through to her, feet dragging her last few steps as her weight settled further and further against him, a sleepy little "Mmmmmm?" before she finds the strength to raise her head and process what he'd said.
Sleep. Sleep, yes— and he invites her to stay and it's the first genuine, warm smile he'll have seen on her in days, not dampened by stress or worry even if she struggles to open her eyes again once they'd closed with her smile. ]
You're sure? I don't want to— [ He may have stifled his but she can't catch hers in time, yawning wide. ] —impose on you further.
[ Her arms slip off of him carefully when he finally separates from her, and she follows to help, picking up pieces of armor and following to put them where he began to pile them. The second he clears the bed she's already slinking on, pressing back up against the wall and reaching for him, on her side with one arm curled up under her head. In this, at least, she makes no effort to hide her neediness. ]
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The second time he curls up to sleep next to her. It could become a habit, he thinks, if given more time, but he doesn't pay the idea much mind. He's too tired to do much more than let the thought pass idly through his head. He needs to sleep, to give himself a little more space from everything awful, get some proper rest and then try to consider things again. It should be easier, knowing that at the very least he'll have physical places to return to when he needs to. That he has someone willing to let him lean on them.
He stays sitting up only long enough to grab the blanket and tug it over them. That done, he lies down next to her, his eyes fluttering shut as soon as his head hits the mattress. He reaches out, gets an arm around her. Keeps himself grounded with the contact.
Not that he needs much grounding. There's nothing that could possibly sway him from sleep now. But he'll stay awake as long as possible, of only to try and make sure she sleeps.]
Sleep well, doctor.
[It's a barely coherent mumble. He's not sure if he's going to win this battle.]
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His arm over her only pulls her closer and she barely hears his words as his presence draws her down, melting against him with relief, glad to have someone to hold so she doesn't have to curl around pillows and hope that her dreams would make them into someone she wants to see again. No, having a real person to hold her is far, far better, and her mind can finally slow down and rest. ]
Guet nacht, Genji.
[ It comes out in her own language instead, more of a mumbled sigh against his chest than any real words. Having him here in the flesh was all it took, and she's gone, cheeks flushed and lashes wet with tears that never had a chance to fall. ]