[ some thin mercies remain. if he were in a better state, if these days had been better days, she might have teased him that one more second could have been another second too long. after all! he does as he's told. and she doesn't shoo him so far away that they aren't still standing thick like thieves beside one another.
shoulder to shoulder. temple to temple, too, if she felt so inclined to lean in his direction. although she doesn't -- choosing instead to keep her back straight and her posture in line. they are together on the other side of his door, now, and she won't be quick to forget the difference. what either of them said on the other side of it doesn't change her habitual discretion.
but oh the way he extends the joke tugs a brief smile onto her lips. ]
Here. [ peggy offers him back his key. after all, she has her own -- although he never gave that one to her either. ] So -- three coordinates. Why three?
[ they live in a multistory building, after all. peggy knows why. but the question isn't posed because she believes (for a moment) that the answer isn't laughably easy; rather, it's posed because she wants to take the measure of his drunkenness. it's less about whether he knows the answer and more about how he gives it.
and how well he keeps pace with her as she strides to the stairwell. ]
no subject
shoulder to shoulder. temple to temple, too, if she felt so inclined to lean in his direction. although she doesn't -- choosing instead to keep her back straight and her posture in line. they are together on the other side of his door, now, and she won't be quick to forget the difference. what either of them said on the other side of it doesn't change her habitual discretion.
but oh the way he extends the joke tugs a brief smile onto her lips. ]
Here. [ peggy offers him back his key. after all, she has her own -- although he never gave that one to her either. ] So -- three coordinates. Why three?
[ they live in a multistory building, after all. peggy knows why. but the question isn't posed because she believes (for a moment) that the answer isn't laughably easy; rather, it's posed because she wants to take the measure of his drunkenness. it's less about whether he knows the answer and more about how he gives it.
and how well he keeps pace with her as she strides to the stairwell. ]