|
Having finished her classes for the day and not being rostered on to work later, Annie is sitting on the couch in the apartment she and Eugene share, feet tucked up underneath her as she reads. A glass of water sits on the coffee table in front of the couch, with a coaster underneath.
Eugene opens the door quietly and steps back into the apartment from the hall outside, where they stop to remove their shoes. "Hey, you're home!" they say with delight, even if it's the rather muted enthusiasm that seems to be the upper end of Eugene's everyday emotional range. "How were classes today?" they ask as they start moving toward the couch.
"Good," Annie answers, slipping a bookmark in before she stands, moving to meet Eugene halfway with a kiss. "How was work? Did you help many people today?" she asks, after.
Eugene's arms slide around Annie's waist and they return the kiss like the brief time they've been away from each other was, perhaps, longer than they'd like. "I only had a couple of patients today, and the first one was a no-show," they admit with a slight shrug. "It happens, I just hope they're alright. I had lunch with an old classmate, too." They hesitate a moment before asking, "no work tonight, right? Or is that tomorrow?"
"I am off work tonight, yes. Back to the salt mine tomorrow, though." Annie sighs dramatically. "Such is life under late capitalism, I suppose." She rests her chin on Eugene's shoulder. "How was lunch with the classmate of yours?"
"As far as late capitalism jobs go, I think you could have worse ones," Eugene says with a laugh and a gentle squeeze of their arms, then they slide one hand up Annie's back and hold her lightly, swaying just a little. "It was a little odd. I knew them when I was so focused on my studies that it meant I could avoid thinking too hard about the experience of my time with our Neighbors. I've changed a lot since then."
"Probably," Annie chuckles, wrapping her arms around Eugene as she nestles closer to her enbyfriend. "Change is natural, though. Focusing on your studies to avoid thinking about your experiences Over There is entirely reasonable, too." One hand rubs slow circles on Eugene's back. "Had your classmate changed much since you knew them originally?"
"Some, but not as much as I did," Eugene answers only after considering the response. "They were... she was in a healthier place than I was to begin with, so there's a more stable foundation to build on. If I hadn't changed a lot more than she has, I'd be worried about one or both of us." With a contented sigh they say, "should we go sit down?"
"Of course," Annie says, releasing them and stepping back slightly. "Would you like anything to drink, while we are both still standing?"
"Mm, are you going to play bartender at home, too?" Eugene asks, their tone light, "I think just some water would be good, though. Some water, and changing into something more comfortable if we're not going out tonight. Are we going out tonight?"
"Oh, well, if you would like a cocktail I can make one for you, but I thought I should ask before we sat down." Annie grins at them, moving into the kitchen. "I do not have any plans to go out tonight, so you should feel free to change into something more comfortable."
"Alright, but remember you told me I could," Eugene says as they unbutton their jeans and start pulling them off right there, in the middle of the open concept space that can't decide if it's the entry, the living room. They're wearing underwear, of course, but they're not wearing pants any more, that's for sure.
They're Eugene, though, so they do fold the jeans before putting them down on the back of the couch.
"Were you studying anything interesting in your classes today?"
"I thought you meant, like, sweatpants or something, but I am not going to complain about this becoming a pants-free zone," Annie counters, returning from the kitchen with another glass of water, putting it on a separate coaster before joining Eugene on the couch. "Define interesting? We were going back over the respiratory system, which is important, at least."
"I thought about going to get some shorts, but then I'd have to stop looking at you and go into the bedroom," Eugene says as if this is the soundest logic that could ever be thought up. "I do agree with you, one hundred percent, about the importance of our respiratory systems, though. It's actually pretty fascinating how they work, too." They sit down and ask, a smile flickering over their face, "are you comfortable?"
"Makes sense," Annie smiles. "I do rather like looking at you, pants or no pants." She blinks at the question. "Yes? Why would I not be comfortable?"
Eugene's smile gets a little wider. "Would you be more comfortable with a Yu Jin for a blanket?" they ask before flopping across Annie.
"How could I not be more comfortable with a Yu Jin for a blanket?" Annie muses rhetorically, one hand moving to stroke the back of their head. "While I think about it, would you be interested in starting a healer Motley? One of the other Springs was talking about it, and it seems like a good idea."
Eugene shifts a little to make themselves more comfortable and peers up at Annie from this new, reclined position. "I think that's an interesting idea. I definitely stand behind the premise, and it would serve as a good way for us to coordinate resources. Who was the other Spring?"
"Petra Fichette." Beat. "The bird we met that time we went swimming in the Spring Hollow, if you remember her."
"Oh, yes! I remember her. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to catch up with her again since." Eugene nods as they turn their head so that their cheek is against Annie's stomach. "Is this something that interests you? Do you think that our being in a romantic relationship might get in the way, at all? Or that people might worry it will?"
Annie considers those questions for a moment before replying. "I am interested in it, yes. I do not expect our being in a romantic relationship to get in the way, given the terms she proposed, but I am aware that people might worry it will." She sighs. "For what it is worth, Petra is aware of our relationship and knows I was planning on talking to you about the motley."
Eugene seems to be thinking about how they feel about the whole thing before they respond to their own question. "I'm not particularly worried about it myself. There could be situations where it would actually matter, but both of us are capable of putting our relationship aside temporarily for the sake of people who need help, I think." They reach up to brush their fingertips over Annie's cheek. "Then, when we're in private later, we can lean on each other for support."
Annie leans into the brushing fingertips slightly, looking relieved. "Setting aside our relationship to help others and supporting each other later, more privately, does sound good to me." She smiles down at Eugene. "Much like we are doing now, in fact."
"That's true," Eugene agrees with a suggestion of a smile, steadier than their smiles usually are, in the swirl of smoke that makes up their face. "It's how we're going to live a lot of our lives together, I suspect. I'm prepared for that, embrace it even, but it's something we definitely need to be aware of in this, isn't it?"
"True enough. Being aware of one's self and how you relate to others, especially those you are dating, is always a good thing." Annie leans down to kiss what is probably Eugene's forehead, based on the way they're lying. "Making sure that we are supporting each other, not just one of us always supporting the other and never being supported in turn, will be important too."
"It will," Eugene answers, after the kiss to their forehead and the words that follow it. "Do you feel like that's happening now? Or did you say that because you feel like there's a lack of that balance now?" Their tone is as gentle and calm as it almost always is. No hint of defensiveness or accusation, just a faint concern and an earnest desire to ensure they're listening if there's a problem.
Annie considers that for a moment, taking a sip from her glass of water before replacing it on the coaster. "I do worry that we are not putting the same amount in, since you have opened what was your space to me, but I do not know if you feel the same."
"I'm a working professional, in a career that pays me relatively well," Eugene answers as they sit up and turns around so that they're side by side, but on a level with one another. "You're a student and a very talented bartender, which is not to disparage what you do for a living in the least. I welcome sharing the apartment with you, and if the fact that I'm paying for the apartment worries you, then we can talk about that, of course."
"I appreciate that our incomes are rather different, at least for the moment, and that you are welcoming me in, but I would like to contribute to the bills and so forth, at least." Annie says, wobbling a hand from side to side momentarily. "Maybe not a fifty-fifty split of the expenses, but... I do not want to feel like a freeloader."
"That's very fair." Eugene scoots closer and slides their bare legs across Annie's lap, but remains sitting up so they can look more or less straight at each other while talking about these serious things. "Whatever you think you can comfortably contribute, I'd welcome it. One of the advantages of living together with someone else is that you can lighten each other's loads. We'll both be paying less than we were before."
Annie nods. "Thank you." She smiles at them. "Before we move on to lighter topics, I suppose I should ask if you have any concerns about where our relationship is at right now."
"Concerns? No," Eugene answers. "I'm still at the stage of ridiculous adoration where all the little things we do differently around the house are quirky and charming, and not annoying. I'm sure that some time down the road I'll probably start irritating you with things like the fact that I forget to close the medicine cabinet all the time, but I'll have to trust that you'll tell me if something starts to annoying you."
Annie chuckles at that. "I often forget to hang the towels up after I have a shower, so if you can promise to tolerate that I suppose I can promise to tolerate you leaving the medicine cabinet open."
"I'm sure we'll have to make a lot of these promises to each other," Eugene says with a gentle laugh as they lean in for a kiss. "Or talk to each other, and then try to work on little things that we can do differently to make each other happy."
Annie meets the lean halfway, letting this kiss linger rather longer than the one she'd greeted Eugene with. "That second one sounds like a better option in the long run, somehow," she admits after they break. "I do like making you happy."
Eugene kisses long, slow, and tender. One hand comes up to slide into the hair at the base of Annie's neck, where Eugene's fingers curl in the wet locks. "It's usually the healthy way of handling the situations that are naturally going to arise," they say.
Annie lets out a contented sigh as Eugene's fingers curl into her hair, moving to straddle their bare legs. "Much better than ignoring them and hoping they get forgotten," she agrees, before kissing them again.
|