Leave my door open just a crack, 'cause I feel like such an insomniac

[foolishwren]

Who: Dale Cooper and Heather Mason
Where: the Ecruteak City Inn
When: Wednesday night, 2:33 AM
Summary: Losing beloved friends and gaining unwanted reminders of the past in payment... none of that makes for a peaceful night's sleep, not even in peaceful little Ecruteak City. Some people think that the best cure for a churning, restless mind on bad-dream-filled nights is to indulge the sweet tooth a bit. Which is why Heather is slipping down to the (closed) inn kitchen in search of some ice cream, when she encounters the only thing worse than being forced to remedy a lack of ice cream by 'borrowing' some: getting busted by a cop for doing just that.
.... Except that it turns out he's down there for the exact same reason she is!

...

... She won't tell if he won't.
Rating: G
Log:
For anyone who's grown accustomed to spending time in the cities where the population's collective bedtime seems not to roll entirely around until at least three in the morning, it's surprisingly jarring to suddenly find oneself in a town where it's the exact opposite.

The town of Ecruteak sat in the middle of a blanket of forest sort of like an elderly cat-- sleepy and quiet, save for the quiet purr of the wind through the trees and shingled rooftops. Far from the busybodies of places like Goldenrod, the population of Ecruteak was old and happy, and therefore on principal, virtually all activity in the city seemed to die out entirely by the time the clocks hit 1:00 AM.

Peaceful was a good word to describe the place. No far-off music (apart from the everlasting 8-bit soundtrack, of course), no voices filtering in through the windows as groups of nightlife-enjoyers walked past down the street, no clunky footsteps of people going up and down the stairs of the inns at all hours of the night. Nothing to keep your average weary traveler from their beauty sleep, not even on a warm night like this one.

... Unfortunately, for one Heather Mason, the it was that very silence itself that was keeping her awake.

And-- after a whole hour of tossing and turning after startling awake in a cold sweat around one-thirty, she knew that even if sleep were eventually to come, it wouldn't be a sleep she wanted to slip into, nor would it mute all the noise in her own head.

Which was why, a quietly-shut door and a few creaky wooden steps later, she was standing in the dark Employees-Only kitchen of the Ecruteak City inn in a tank-top and boxer shorts, scratching the back of her ankle absentmindedly with one bare foot as she tried to work out which stainless-steel fridge door was the one that led to the freezer component, and whether or not it would make much noise if she just... opened it and took a look at what was inside.

If there had been room service available at all hours like there had been in the big Goldenrod Hotel, she'd have done the nice, legal thing and ordered something like a responsible human being. But THIS place practically shut down at midnight (what the hell?!), so she couldn't. Really, there was just no alternative.

Besides, they wouldn't miss a little bit of ice cream, right?

Comments

[foolishwren]

There were many things she'd done tonight that she probably would not have done a few months ago... or hell, even a few hours ago. Taking his offered hand is one of them.

But she does, and hauls herself upright on it, not waiting for him to pull back.

"I think I can get behind that idea..."

Already she felt calmer, less jittery and full of mental white noise. Sleep had been more or less out of the picture entirely. From where she stood now... it seemed like a fairly reachable goal.

She bends down to pick up her abandoned bowl and spoon, inspects it a little, and then runs the spoon across the bottom again to get the last dregs of multi-flavor melt that had pooled down there. Waste not, want not.

[tapestodiane]

He doesn't answer when he picks up his own bowl and spoon and runs some water over them by the sink, scraping lightly with the spoon along the bottom of the bowl to get rid of any dried-stuck ice cream residue. And after that it doesn't take him too long to locate a dishwasher - empty, so that will be a mysterious surprise for the kitchen staff in the morning - and puts them in.

Then he just leans against the counter and waits for her to finish up. There's some reflection on this little meeting in his mind as well, but mostly, it's quiet. Quiet and a little tired, but not in a bad way.

Mostly in that sleep is going to be welcome-way.

[foolishwren]

She doesn't take quite as long as he does once she takes her turn-- hastily rinsing it out without taking much effort to scrape the bottom. She's never liked doing dishes.

She sticks her bowl alongside his in the dishwasher before straightening up and declaring, "When they come in and check the dishwasher tomorrow, they're gonna be like '.... Ghosts.'"

[tapestodiane]

He nods, grins. He'd thought exactly the same thing and looks like he approves of her summary.

"And the best part is that it would be a reasonable explanation in this place."

[foolishwren]

And she grins back, already heading for the door..

Even if it's something small and silly, the fact that he would willingly engage in mischief is just so... well, unexpected. And amusing.

"... You know, I think I totally had the wrong impression of you before.

[tapestodiane]

"What impression was that?"

He asks with a soft curiosity when he follows her (the tiles are still pretty damn cold), though he's pretty sure he can guess what the answer is. Or at least what part of it will be.

[foolishwren]

She pauses halfway through the door, a sort of small smile on her face.

There's a lot of things she could say, actually. Just like there had been a lot of things she could have said about Phoenix, when she'd first started to realize HE was different from how she'd first pegged him, too.

But eventually she decides on, "... Just a really different one."

[tapestodiane]

Maybe she should stop trying to peg law enforcement figures altogether.

When she pauses, he doesn't really, hand lingering on the door frame for just a moment before he goes through it and throws her a smile. There's a new kind of friendship here, another seemingly unlikely one, but there's nothing wrong with those. Nothing at all.

He likes that answer, for the record.

"What floor are you on?"

[foolishwren]

That would be a good idea, wouldn't it?

We'll see what happens.

She follows along after him once he goes through, still smiling.

"Just the second."

[tapestodiane]

"Guess that makes us neighbors."

But he's not all too talkative on the way back. Not in a distanced sense, just that there's already been plenty of words between them tonight and there's not really a need for more.

[foolishwren]

Neither is she, all things considered. They've both talked more to each other tonight than in... probably any of their previous encounters combined.

So when she reaches the room she's sharing with her father and the (at least semi-adopted by this point) scruffy fellow-Silent-Hill-survivor they'd picked up along the way, she pauses by the door.

"I guess I'll see you around, huh?"

[tapestodiane]

His room is only a few doors further down the hall, but he's not in any particular hurry and needless to say stops for a moment when she does. There's no real answer to the question but a small nod and a mild smile, but he does wish her a good night ... or maybe a good morning.

"Sleep well."

Which he hopes they both will. If not well, maybe at least a little better.

[foolishwren]

A little better might not be much, but it's something-- and at this point, even something feels like it was a worthwhile prize for a few hours' worth of heart-to-heart.

She smiles.

"You too."

And then disappears into the room, shutting the door behind her with a click.

There's a few more hours until daylight. For that time, maybe now the quietness of this town will be more restful than restless.

[tapestodiane]

It will be, for Cooper. And though he does wake up fairly early in the morning despite the fewer hours of sleep, he feels surprisingly rested when he does. The vicious voices in his head are kept at bay.

It can only get better from there.



_{(best log. ;; <3)}