A Different Morning After

[Eli Morrison]

Maybe he was rude.

Eli considered this carefully as he lay on his back on Mii's couch, looking up at the shadows on the ceiling. They were comforting, because they were the same shadows that were always there, light and gray and slowly shrinking as the sun cleared the trees outside the window. Zero was curled up next to him, snoring quiet doggy snores, and he figured he had about a half hour of thinking before it was time to take her out for her morning walk.

Alternatively, he could just let her out then, and go for a walk a little bit later, when Mii got up.

Right. He might be rude. That was what he was supposed to be thinking about. The thing was, it wasn't a date, what he and Emiko had done the night before. They had just gone to the same party with the plans to meet there. They hadn't danced at all, and the Japanese woman had abandoned him at the bar to go and talk to a bunch of people he recognized only from yearbook pictures. As he wasn't drinking anything alcoholic, the bartender kept looking at him and rolling her eyes pointedly. That was rude. What else was he supposed to do? His "date" had wondered off, and he would have gone and talked to Mii, but she'd ended up dancing with a man old enough to be her father.

And when she'd left, Eli had excused himself with Emiko and followed her. They'd picked up Zero and taken her over to Mii's house for a "nightcap", which was just hot cocoa, as he didn't and she couldn't drink. Then they had watched a movie and Eli accidentally gave away the ending, and he'd taken over her sofa for the night, as it was too late and too cold for him to go back to his own lonely apartment. Cocoa and popcorn and Die Hard, that was the best part of his night on the same day that he went on his first date.

It was a date, since that's what Emiko had called it. Who was he kidding? It was a date and he had gone home with another woman. (His pregnant best friend who had offered him her couch many times previously, but still.)

So... Yes. Eli was rude.

Now that he had cleared that up for himself, he hauled his tall frame off the couch, taking care not to disturb the dog curled at his feet. He headed to the kitchen, that he probably knew just as well as Mii did. When she went on recruitment trips that lasted longer than expected, he would let himself in with his key and make sure that she didn't have anything spoiling in the fridge and her few plants got watered. Eli put a pot of water on the stove to boil--couldn't make coffee, caffeine wasn't good for fetal development--and when Mii came downstairs, he was seated on her kitchen counter, dutifully completing the crossword in her newspaper, and drinking a cup of tea. "Morning, Mii. Am I a rude person?"

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori was far from contemplating how rude a person she was. She wasn’t thinking about much of anything, really. Curled up in bed, her pillow hugged tight to her chest, she was still deeply sleeping. The previous night had tired her out, between the energy it took to be social, the dancing, and the late night home.

Eli had surprised her, coming after her like that. She’d expected him to either part ways with his date and just go home, or at best, walk her home before heading home himself. She’d left without saying much of a goodbye to him, leaving him with Emiko. To have him follow her so soon after leaving had been a surprise, but a welcome one. Because she hadn’t quite been ready for the night to end (and really, she was glad to spend some time with her best friend), she’d invited him to her place for hot chocolate and a movie. Of course, Zero had been invited too, and after picking her up they’d settled back at her place.

It had actually been the best way to end the night, in Mii’s opinion. Hot chocolate, popcorn, a movie, her best friend, and little Zero. By the time the movie had ended, she honestly hadn’t minded lending Eli her couch. It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before. The last time had been when he’d been over, helping her paint the baby’s room. They’d done it up in, what else, a dog theme, with tan walls, dark brown trim, and carefully stencilled paw prints. It had been a lot of work, but the end result had made them both happy.

Slowly, she stretched and came to the conclusion it was time to get up. After stretching and rubbing her eyes, she forced herself out of bed and padded down the stairs in her pyjamas. Her hair was a mess, and she was certain she looked terrible, but she honestly didn’t care. She just strolled into the kitchen and grinned at the sight of Eli. He looked so at home, perched up on the counter.

“Good morning, Eli.” She processed the question and then shrugged. “No, you’re not. Too damn smart for your own good, but you’re not rude.” She would have pulled herself up onto the counter as well, but she decided against making a fool of herself and instead leaned against Eli. “What do you want for breakfast?”

[Eli Morrison]

Eli didn't own pajamas himself, but he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Midori padding into the kitchen wearing flannel and with the sleep barely rubbed out of her eyes. She looked tired, but that was all too usual nowadays, and it couldn't help that they had gone to a party where she had danced, an then they stayed up late, watching the only Christmas movie he could really tolerate.

"I'm not kidding, Mii. I mean, I kind of went on a date last night, then I went home with you. I wasn't like we did anything inappropriate, or that I would have done anything with her anyway." Eli finished filling in the crossword and put the paper back onto the counter. "I was just thinking that it was probably rude, what I did, and I'm going to have to go and apologize because it didn't seem rude at the time."

Other than his leg, which was pressed up against his best friend's side, he didn't touch her. Even though she wasn't actually looking at him, he knew the look that she had on her face as she listened to his worries. So instead of continuing the more uncomfortable thread--he didn't like to think of himself as rude; Eli had even tried to avoid appearing like a creepy library shut-in, but that only worked so well when everyone knew his primary companions were his dog and his best friend--he just answered her, "Anything, same as always. You know you don't have to cook for me or anything."

Eli was like a college student in more than just the way he dressed; most days he would forgo breakfast in favor of sleeping in a little longer, particularly on the weekend, like this. "Do you have work today? I don't, but unless you have a spare toothbrush, I have to head home soon."

[Midori Hawkins]

Sorry, but it was Mii’s house, and if she wanted to wander around in cozy pjs (all day) then she could. She missed Eli’s little grin, because she was honestly still in tired mode. Had she seen it, she might have rolled her eyes at him. Instead, she just flopped against the counters beside him, glad for the company.

“Neither am I. You’re not rude.” Still, she listened to his justification. It made sense. Sort of. But that still didn’t make him a total jerk. “So go apologize. Just remember, she ditched you, first.” She nudged his leg with her elbow. “Don’t think I missed that.” In her mind, if Eli was rude for abandoning Emiko, then Emiko was rude for ditching him at the bar. Or maybe that was just her protective, best friend instincts kicking in. “If that makes you rude, she’s just as bad. Stop obsessing.”

His worries didn’t really bother her that much. They weren’t huge, or life changing. Just him worrying about something small. She honestly didn’t think he was a rude person. He was far from it. But if he wanted to obsess for a while, she couldn’t stop him. At least not until she’d bribed him with food. “Shut it. I like cooking when we’re both here.” She paused for a moment to think about what she had in the house. “… I could make pancakes.”

Mii had always lived by her mother telling her that breakfast was important. It was something she’d scolded Eli for time and time again. If he was going to be staying here, he was going to eat in the morning, damn it. “No. No work. Not that I’m doing anything important there anyway.” She turned away from him and busied herself with looking for the pancake mix in the pantry. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet upstairs. You can use it.” She pulled the mix out of the pantry and shoved the door shut with her foot. “Hey, after breakfast, want to take Zero for a walk?”

[Eli Morrison]

"She apologized, after, though. Kind of." It was evident Emiko wasn't sorry about going and talking to the group, but she did seem sincere about her apology for leaving him sitting there. "Is there any expectation for me to call her or something, today? I mean there shouldn't be. From what I have deduced, there is a not-insignificant difference between going on a date with someone and...you know, dating them." He took another sip of his tea, then furrowed his brow, considering what she said. "I'm not obsession. I don't obsess." Other people obsessed. He just thought about things rationally, and sometimes at great length.

He didn't want to put her out; he'd read extensively about symptoms of pregnancy that made women feel ill, and he didn't want to force anything. However, he'd also read about cravings.

And, of course, Eli liked pancakes. "I like pancakes." Eli said.

"Okay, thanks Mii." He did like eating over here, because while he did know thousands of recipes, he never managed to cook them quite right. He wasn't prone to injury, but it just never tasted as good as when he ate something from someone else's kitchen.

Honestly, that was probably more of an indictment against his tiny, messy kitchen than anything else.

"Sure. We'll have to head over to my apartment to feed her. Would you mind if I brought a bag of her kibble over here? She's a neat eater." He hopped off of the counter and made himself useful by pulling out a whisk and a mixing bowl. Yes, of course he knew where she kept her cooking supplies. He only needed to see their locations once, after all.

[Midori Hawkins]

“Huh.” That was all she said in regards to Emiko apologizing. Really, she thought it was more rude to leave a so called date to go and talk to a bunch of other people, than what Eli had done. But then again, she was biased, and she knew it. “No. I don’t think so. Seriously, just stop.” She couldn’t take his thinking sometimes. Especially when he felt it necessary to recite pregnancy facts, and hover over her, completely worried over things he really didn’t need to worry about. “You are, and you do. I mean it. Stop obsessing. Just apologize when we’re all back at work if you really want to.”

Mii hadn’t been feeling the effects of morning sickness for a while now, but cravings were something else entirely. They drove her crazy, sometimes. And though she wasn’t exactly craving pancakes, they seemed like a good idea. At the very least, they were easy. Mindless, even. (And the idea of syrup was a little appealing, yes.)

“I know you do. And so do I.” She shrugged and got the eggs and milk out of the fridge, setting them on the counter. “You’re welcome.” He liked eating at her place, and she liked the company. It was a completely fair trade off. She sighed in a calm manner and shook out the mix into a measuring cup.

His question didn’t exactly take her by surprise, but... well... it wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Of course. That’s no problem. Would probably make things easier, for mornings like this.” She peeked out into the living room at the still sleeping dog, smiling at her. There was something so peaceful about a slumbering animal. “You know,” she said with a little grin as she took the bowl and got to work. “Sometimes I swear it would just be easier if we lived together. We spent enough time at each other’s places.” She laughed, because she wasn’t even close to being serious. It was one of those errant thoughts. “Can you get out the electric frying pan?” Just like that, she wasn’t thinking about it anymore, and she knew she didn’t have to tell him where it was. Her mind was back on breakfast.

[Eli Morrison]

"I am not obsessing." Eli had never had an older sister, and he'd always needed one. For years, Mii had filled the role, without asking for anything other than an the occasional factoid for a report. He wanted to make it up to her, for all of the little, supportive things she did, even more than he wanted to smooth things over with Emiko.

He fetched the appliance without a comment, thinking. Eli was certain that Mii's comment about cohabitation was meant in jest, but...it kind of made sense, now that he was thinking about it. They ate together fairly regularly, Zero loved Mii, and Mii did have another spare room, which was just being used for storage at the moment. It was a bit larger than a closet, but only slightly smaller than his bedroom at his apartment. He'd have to get rid of some (a lot) of his books, but that wouldn't be an issue. After all, once he'd read them, there was no reason for him to keep them around. They just stayed in his head.

"We could. You know, we could actually live together. I don't really know what I'm doing, but once the baby comes, I could help? So you could get more sleep and everything. And Zero has always been good with kids, so...." He shrugged and went to another cabinet, then started pulling out the dishes to set the table. He already knew where everything in her house was; it wouldn't be that hard of a change.

If she had any interest in it, that is.

[Midori Hawkins]

“You are too.” If there was one thing Mii knew, it was how to be a sister. Growing up with two brothers had taught her that. Pointless arguments came with the territory, and that was something she engaged Eli with quite a bit. Of course, being a little sister was different from being an older sister, but with Eli, even when they were teenagers, she’d slipped into the role without even realizing it.

She honestly hadn’t meant the comment about living together. It had been a joke, albeit one that was true. Especially recently, they’d spent a lot of time at one another’s places. Sometimes it was just dinner, or the mutual desire for company. Mii actually found Pilot Ridge a little lonely, only because she was used to having her family so close by. Here, Eli was more or less her family. And Zero, of course. What she’d suggested had been an errant thought from time to time, usually striking in situations like this. She’d just never thought to suggest it. Not seriously, at least.

But then Eli did. Mii glanced up from the mixing bowl, pausing in her efforts. Was he serious? … Okay, when was Eli not serious? She turned from the counter to face him. “We could. I still have the spare room, and the yard’s big enough for Zero, and Eli, why didn’t we think of this before?” It seemed so simple. “You probably remember more about those books than I do. You’d be fine. … If… you actually wanted to help. You wouldn’t have to.” She didn’t want to burden her best friend with her own mistakes, even if he had been the one to offer. “But if you want to move in… I’d like that.” If nothing else, neither one of them would be subject to loneliness anymore. “If you really meant it.” With that, she turned back to the bowl and finished mixing, then set about actually cooking the pancakes.

[Eli Morrison]

Eli grumbled "Am not," but he wasn't really fighting with Mii about it. Not anymore. It wasn't worth it, considering how he actually was coming close to obsessing, but it was on winning the argument, not whether he was rude to Emiko.

"My lease ends in February. I told Mrs. Perry I was going to renew it, but I don't think it actually counts as a verbal contract." Eli set the table, grinning widely. He was actually excited about this, in a way he didn't normally feel about things that pertained to other people. "And she likes me, and you, so if I said I was moving in with you, she'd probably let me out of it anyway...." He looked up at her, as he finished laying out the dishes, then crossed the kitchen and stole some pancake batter by dipping his finger into the bowl when Mii turned towards the skillet. "I promise I won't leave books lying around or anything. I think I might actually be a good roommate." He perched himself back up on the counter again and smiled down at his best friend. "Of course I would help. It's not fair that you were going to do everything on your own. I want to help."

Why hadn't they thought of it before?

[Midori Hawkins]

“Eli. Shut up.” It wasn’t said in a malicious way, or even in exasperation. It was playful, like so many of their little arguments tended to end up. (Mii honestly couldn’t remember actually fighting with her best friend, well... ever. Which was just fine with her.) “No more. You win. You’re rude, and you’re going to apologize. Just not today.” Today, his job involved keeping her company, and walking Zero. And carrying kibble over.

As he mentioned his landlady, Mii turned to face him again, leaning on the countertop with a devious grin on her face. “You know what she’s going to think, don’t you?” For as long as she’d been back in Pilot Ridge, and a frequent guest of Eli’s, they’d been subject to the older woman’s theories regarding their relationship. Once she knew they were planning to move in together... well, it might be a good thing Eli was moving out. She giggled at the mental image of the impending conversation between Mrs Perry and Eli. “I’m sorry, but it’s funny. And you’re right. I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.” Despite her teasing, Mii was just as excited. She hadn’t actually had a roommate for a while. Not since she was back home, going to college. But this would be different. As she turned back, she caught him with his finger in his mouth and scowled, eyeing the raw batter. “Ew, Eli. Don’t do that.” She cuffed his knee as he got back up on the counter and moved the bowl to the other side of the skillet. “You don’t have to be perfect. You know I leave books and stuff all over the place, especially now. I won’t care.” She shrugged and poked at the cooking pancakes, flipping them over. His willingness to help was unexpected, but... nice, all the same. “Thank you. I mean it.” If he was around, this whole thing didn’t seem overwhelmingly scary. Not anymore.